Yes. There is such a Thing as Good Mold. Part 2

6/1/2018 (Permalink)

Many cheese caves in the US are converted tunnels from the prohibition era or underground storage units used before the invention of refrigerators.

As a company that specializes in Mold Mitigation, SERVPRO of East Greenville has a numerous amount of information about mold. Specifically harmful or “Black” mold and a large amount of this information can be unnerving. So in an effort to be fair and balanced, we would like to share some information about some “good” types of mold.

Part 2: Cheese Caves

Blue Cheese can be a delicious additive to salads, steaks & burgers, or make a great dip. But blue cheese is also made from a mold, in fact, is from the same strain of mold as penicillin. And blue cheese isn’t the only form of edible mold.

Gourmet “cheese hounds” and other foodies enjoy some of the more eccentric cheeses, and more producers are working to accommodate their taste. “Cheese Caves” are facilities where certain types of cheese are stored in controlled environments that are perfectly maintained to encourage certain types of mold in and around the cheese. Sections of these facilities are calibrated to certain temperatures and moisture levels to cultivate and create ecosystems of mold, and many of the facilities have “cave systems” dedicated to multiple types of cheese and each one has its own environmental calibration.

The cheeses produced from cheese caves can be very expensive and if you are looking to try some don’t D.I.Y. it and take a bite from some cheddar with grey mold lurking in the back of the refrigerator, there is a local cheese cave in Charleston, SC.

While many of us at SERVPRO of East Greenville County are not sure if we have ever had cheese cultivated in cheese cave, we do love blue cheese dressing with our wings. So add another mold to the good guys’ list.