Is blue cheese gluten-free?
Posted on December 6th, 2007 by alison
There are many stories about how blue cheese came to be. They all involve cheese, bread and a cave. The basic tale is this: someone left a piece of bread in a cave where the cheese was being aged. The bread became moldy and the mold spread to the cheese. Someone came back to the cave days or weeks later, and yum yum yum - moldy blue cheese! An industry was born. They began to purposely inject cheese with bread mold during processing, leading to the creation of blue or green-veined cheeses such as Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Cambozola, and Stilton.
Do veined cheeses contain gluten? This question comes up a lot when people have to change their diet due to celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or a wheat allergy. After conducting my own blue cheese investigation, I have the answer: some blue cheeses do contain gluten, but most do not.
Some blue cheese is still made the old-fashioned way using bread mold. However, most cheeses produced in the U.S. today are not started with a bread mold because it’s not efficient or economical. Cheesemakers can now buy liquid blue mold that is made in a laboratory (as one blue cheese manufacturer explained to me). These do not contain gluten.
Yup, that’s right. You can eat blue cheese. Just make sure it is one of the gluten-free ones listed below. I will update this list as I get more information.
Gluten-free blue cheeses:
- BelGioso gorgonzola - verified via website that all their cheeses are gluten-free
- Marin French Cheese Factory blue cheese - verified via phone
- Maytag blue cheese - verified via phone (it used to contain gluten, but now does not)
- Montforte blue cheese and gorgonzola - verified via phone
- Pt. Reyes blue cheese - verified via phone and website
- Rosenborg blue cheese - verified via web
- Paladin MonSalvat blue cheese - verified via email
Gluten-free blue cheese stuffed olives:
- Armstrong Olives - verified via phone
Gluten-free blue cheese dressing:
- no info yet
NOT gluten-free:
- Saga blue cheese - verified via email that it contains wheat
oh that is awesome news. Do you perhaps have any info on some goatmilk blue cheeses for those of us that can’t handle cow? thanks!
I believe Lighthouse Blue Cheese salad dressing is Gluten Free… mfr. in Sandpoint, Idaho and delicious. Most of their dressings are GF. Thank Goodness. They are sold in the refrigerated section with dressings like Maries.
Hi Alison
I read with interest (and appreciation, and gratitude for your hard work) your writing on the blue cheese saga–pun intended! However, while I know that some blue cheese does get its veining from a mold that was started on wheat bread, science tells me that does not mean that the mold that grows on the bread (and then is spread via growth throughout the cheese as it
develops) also has wheat as a constituent, or even contaminant. The mold is a living organism that happened to get its original start in life by eating
bread so to speak, but that doesn’t transform it into bread or bread’s constituents any more than I am made of Brussels sprouts because I eat them (well,
sometimes!). I have actually called Saga and spoken to the cheese expert in the dairy (not the person on the phone in front) who confirmed my thoughts. She also says that, as with many companies now, they would rather say that something is NOT gluten free than have to certify that it IS GF etc– big problem with the pending legislation. I have noted several companies actually changing their formulas, I think, to avoid the whole issue (and of course a lawsuit!) Leaves us all back in the boat we have been in–reading the label but understanding how things are made as well. Think vinegar, alcohol and so forth.
Just some thoughts, and thanks again for all your hard work to make things easier.
Best Regards,
Lyn
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I sadly put aside bleu cheese 5 years ago, and have lately been craving it. I’m going to the store immediately to buy gorgonzola and asparagus!
Just wanted to say thanks for this. I took your list to Whole Foods to get some bleu today, and the people at the cheese counter told me no bleus were GF. I said, um, not according to several cheesemakers’ websites! I grabbed some Pt. Reyes, and then I gave them my copy of the list so they could do some research, and they seemed pretty excited by it.
Thank you for this list! I’m glad I found it!
I should like to say that as far as blue cheese salad dressings go, if you’re in Austin, SASS’s salad dressing is GF (and darn tasty!). It’s in HEB in the refrigerated part of the produce section, and apparently Whole Foods is carrying it, but I haven’t looked for it there.
http://www.freshdressings.com/bleucheese.htm
Hi,
Can’t tell you how grateful I am to learn bleu & gorgonzola cheeses are GF! I’ve not touched them in the four years I’ve been on this diet, and sure miss them! I’m 72yrs old, and only learned about this celiac problem I have had all my life a few years ago, and, needless to say, sure miss some of my foods. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I wrote yesterday to thank you for your list, but forgot to add that Boar’s Head blue cheese is also GF. This is the only one I knew about since being diagnosed a few years ago, and thought someone might be interested.
How about those other cheeses like Gorgonzola - I hate to ask you to do more research, but if you already know, this is definitely an important topic!
Thanks!
Sonia
I have read the other comments and have tried the so-called GF Blue Cheese but I still get a reaction to it, not pleasant! I find it odd that no one is asking or telling what is in the Laboratory Blue Mold Liquid?! If it is synthetic, is it genetically similar enough to be considered bio-synthetically equal. Is that why my body still can not tolerate it? And, that most of the references refer to wheat. What about Rye? I don’t know how to get my questions answered but if someone out there knows a way, please help us all. Thanks, Terri
If you are “still getting” a reaction to the Gluten Free blue’s listed, keep in mind that one of the effects of CD is Lactose intolerance. The reaction is very similar, can usually be cured by taking Lactaid or similar product as directed.
I am recently “self diagnosed” as being sensitive to gluten.
I read everything I could get my hands on and find it hard to believe that a trace amount . . could make you sick . . or that it is definitely a “life sentence”.
My intuition tells me there is “no way” that a trace amount would definitely hurt “everybody” with CD. Sensitivities vary . . so maybe they are erring on the side of caution. Also body chemistry changes through out your life. . . You can have an allergy one year and not the next year. They are making some very strong definitive statements, and applying them to everyone with a sensitivity. I would love to see the data. Anyone know what tests have been done?
I just wanted to add about the blue cheese discussion that I am cautious about purchasing it and eating it. I work at Trader Joes and can’t get an answer from customer service about how the blue cheese that is sold at Trader Joes is made! Trader Joes recently havelabeled a mixed salad as GF, but, it contains Miners Blue Cheese. Since I am not able to get an answer from someone who actually knows about what gluten free means and the importance of sourcing how it is made, I have determined that I will not be buying any of the beloved blue cheese products from Trader Joes, even if labeled GF!
Another note, since I have been gluten free my migranes have ended. This alone is a miracle.