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Cheese from Denmark

Danablu PGI

Danish cow milk is homogenised and pasteurised, then made into a soft to semi-firm, full-fat cheese ripened with Penicillium roqueforti. The loose curd and the needle holes let air in so blue-green veins spread through the paste. It ripens at least five weeks, has no true rind and no smear, and tastes sharp, salty and slightly bitter.

Fully documentedCheese35 daysPGI (EU, registered 1996; specification amended 2012 and 2025)Family: Blue-veined cheese family (Roquefort as template)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes composition, shape and ripening, not amounts. Whole cheeses weigh about 3 kg (flat cylinder) or about 4 kg (rectangular).
Danish cow milk, homogenised and pasteurised or otherwise heat-treated[dan-sd2012][dan-am2025]
Penicillium roqueforti (blue mould culture)[vdt2000]
Startera Penicillium roqueforti blue mould culture

Total time across the recorded steps: 35 days

Start
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What changes: The cow milk is homogenised and heated before cheesemaking

Step 1 of 6
Homogenise and pasteurise the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Penicillium roqueforti
Moulds

Homogenising the milk, introduced by Marius Boel in 1927, makes the cheese whiter, richer and more piquant; low-temperature pasteurisation became usual in the 1930s.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Danish cow milk is homogenised and pasteurised, then made into a soft to semi-firm, full-fat cheese ripened with Penicillium roqueforti. The loose curd and the needle holes let air in so blue-green veins spread through the paste. It ripens at least five weeks, has no true rind and no smear, and tastes sharp, salty and slightly bitter. Made in 6 steps over 35 days. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 35 days (European Commission 2011) and runs at 10 °C (van den Tempel T 2000). Salt is 4 % (van den Tempel T 2000). Penicillium roqueforti, the blue mould starter culture does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 35 daysSet[dan-sd2012][dan-am2025]Ripen
Temperature10 °CReported[vdt2000]Ripen
Salt4 %Reported[vdt2000]Salt

What makes this one different

A Roquefort-type cheese made from homogenised, pasteurised cow milk, not raw sheep milk; homogenising gives the whiter, richer paste and sharper flavour.

Milk
Danish cow milk, homogenised and pasteurised
Ripening
At least 5 weeks
Composition
Danablu 50+ has at least 50% fat in dry matter and 52% dry matter; Danablu 60+ at least 60% fat in dry matter and 56% dry matter
Size
Flat cylinder about 20 cm across and 3 kg, or a block about 30 × 12 cm and 4 kg

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is pasteurised or otherwise heat-treated.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Marius Boel grew blue mould from his family's cheeses on bread, dried and ground it, and added it to fresh curd; from 1927 he made the cheese from homogenised milk. Danish regulations for Roquefort-type cheese took effect on 1 January 1936, and the name Danablu was fixed by order in 1952.

  1. [dan-sd2012] European Commission, Publication of an amendment application and single document, 'Danablu' PGI, EC No DK-PGI-0217-0328-21.02.2011, Official Journal of the European Union C 150, 26.5.2012spec
  2. [dan-am2025] European Commission, Publication of an amended product specification, 'Danablu' PGI, Official Journal of the European Union C/2025/6673, 15.12.2025spec
  3. [vdt2000] van den Tempel T., Nielsen M.S. 2000, Effects of atmospheric conditions, NaCl and pH on growth and interactions between moulds and yeasts related to blue cheese production, International Journal of Food Microbiology 57(3):193–199 (abstract)paper
  4. [vdt2002] van den Tempel T., Gundersen J.K., Nielsen M.S. 2002, The microdistribution of oxygen in Danablu cheese measured by a microsensor during ripening, International Journal of Food Microbiology 75:157–161 (abstract)paper
  5. [oj1996] Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 of 12 June 1996 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin under the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, Official Journal L 148, 21.6.1996 (Annex lists Danablu as a PGI cheese)spec