Blue cheese is made from moldy goat's milk cheese.
Cheese mold is a troubling phenomenon for many food consumers. However, it is also a fascinating topic for science experiments. Mold grows differently on different types of cheese, and the process of mold growth on different types of cheese can have fascinating results. Goat's milk cheese, for example, becomes a kind of edible mold known as blue cheese when it is left out to age. Science projects examining these and other mold properties can be fun and rewarding for students of all ages.
Types of Cheese
Different cheeses grow mold at different rates. A project on cheese mold could examine the rates at which different cheeses grow mold. Such a project would take different cheese -- such as mozzarella, cheddar, brie and ricotta -- and leave them out in the open to grow mold. The student could record the dates at which each cheese first shows mold, and track the rate of mold growth following the first appearance.
Growth Under Controlled Conditions
The rate of mold growth on cheese is affected by atmospheric conditions. A project examining the growth of mold under different atmospheric conditions could track the rate of growth of cheese at room temperature and compare this rate to the rate of growth on cheese in the refrigerator, outdoors or in the basement. This project could focus on just one type of cheese or could compare several different types of cheese.
Blue Cheese
Blue cheese is a type of edible moldy cheese that was popularized by the French. A project on blue cheese could examine the physical properties of the cheese, or attempt to create blue cheese using goat's milk cheese. The physical properties of blue cheese, such as bacterial growth, can be identified with the use of a high-powered microscope. Blue cheese can be created from goat's milk cheese by salting the latter and leaving it out to mold for 10 days or so.
Preventing Mold Growth
Not all research projects on cheese mold attempt to grow mold on cheese. To the contrary, some attempt to prevent the growth of mold through various methods. Mold growth can be prevented through freezing, containment, salting and wrapping. A research project on preventatives would look into which of the these methods is most effective in preventing mold growth on various types of cheese.
Tags: grow mold, milk cheese, mold growth, blue cheese, different types