Blue cheese
Roquefort
France — Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, Aveyron. France's first cheese with protected origin status (1925).
PDORoquefort. Raw Lacaune ewe's milk; ripened in the natural Combalou caves.
Profile
- Milk
- Raw ewe's milk.
- Pasteurisation
- Raw (PDO).
- Texture
- Moist, crumbly, creamy, with blue-green veins.
- Flavour
- Salty, sharp, tangy, rich.
- Aroma
- Pungent, mineral.
- Rind
- No real rind; wrapped in foil.
- Typical maturation
- At least 90 days (PDO)
Tasting & pairing
Taste a piece near the veins and one away from them. Use the tasting wheel.
Food
- Pears
- Walnuts
- Honey
- Salad (endive)
Drinks (non-alcoholic)
- Pear juice
- Grape juice
Optional, if you drink alcohol: Sauternes.
Storage: Wrap in foil; refrigerate.
How it's made
- Method
- Curd is inoculated with Penicillium roqueforti, salted, pierced to let air in so the mould can grow, then ripened in the caves.
- Cultures
- Mesophilic cultures; Penicillium roqueforti.
- Coagulation
- Rennet
- Curd handling
- Curd drained without pressing.
- Pressing
- Not pressed.
- Salting
- Dry-salted.
- Ageing
- In cave cellars, then wrapped.
At home: Not practical at home
Raw ewe's milk and cave ageing; try a blue-style home make instead.
Recipes on FriendsPantry that use it
Sources
- Cheese Making Technology e-book — University of Guelph, Food Science
- Molds on Food: Are They Dangerous? — USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
- Roquefort — Confédération Générale des Producteurs de Lait de Brebis et des Industriels de Roquefort
- eAmbrosia — EU geographical indications register — European Commission
- Foods to avoid in pregnancy (cheese guidance) — NHS (UK)
- Raw drinking milk — UK Food Standards Agency
Guidance changes: check the source for current wording. Original text; figures quoted from the sources where stated.