Some molds make the cheese they grow in taste better.
Plants that grow on bread and cheese
When a piece of bread gets old, it may become covered with pale, powdery
spots. Each spot is a sort of “forest” of tiny, tiny plants called
molds.
Molds, like all living things, are made of many tiny packages of life.
These are called cells. But it takes only one cell to start a whole
forest of mold. This kind of cell is called a spore.
A mold spore is smaller than a speck of dust. It floats in the air. When
it lands on bread or something else it can use as food, it begins to
grow by sending out many tiny threads. Some of these threads grow down,
like roots. Others grow upward,
like stems. Bunches of these threads make up the spots you see on moldy
bread or cheese.
mold growing on bread
When mold grows on bread, it spoils the bread.
Some molds spoil food. But others make food taste better. Molds give
such cheeses as Roquefort and Stilton their blue color and delicious
flavor.
Molds grow on other things than bread and cheese. Some grow on plants.
This usually spoils the plant.
Some molds grow on dead plants and animals. These molds help make dead
things rot and break apart. They are part of nature’s clean-up crew.
mold growing on a dead moth
Molds that make dead things rot, help make the soil richer.
mold growing on an orange
When mold grows on fruits or vegetables, it spoils them
mold on raspberry jam
Mold often spoils food in cans or jars that have been opened.
