Roquefort

Roquefort(French pronunciation:[ʁɔkfɔʁ]) is asheep milkblue cheesefromsouthern France.Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere,EU lawdictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves ofRoquefort-sur-Soulzonmay bear the name Roquefort, as it is a recognisedgeographical indication, and has aprotected designation of origin.
Roquefort is white, tangy, creamy and slightly moist, with veins of bluemold. It has a characteristic fragrance and flavor with a taste ofbutyric acid; the blue veins provide a sharp tang. It has no rind; the exterior is edible and slightly salty. A typical wheel weighs between 2.5 and 3kg (5.5 to 6.6lbs), and is about 10 cm (4 in) thick. Each kilogram of finished cheese requires about 4.5 liters of milk to produce. In France, Roquefort is often called the "king of cheeses" or the "cheese of kings", although those namesare also used for other cheeses.
According to legend, Roquefort cheese was discovered when a youth, eating his lunch of bread and ewes' milk cheese, saw a beautiful girl in the distance. Abandoning his meal in a nearby cave, he ran to meet her. When he returned a few months later, the mold (Penicillium roqueforti) had transformed his plain cheese into Roquefort.
In 79 AD,Pliny the Elderpraised the cheeses ofLozèreandGévaudanand reported their popularity in ancientRome; in 1737,Jean Astrucsuggested that this was a reference to an ancestor of Roquefort.The theory was widely taken up, and by the 1860s was being promoted by theSociété des Caves.Others have dismissed the idea, on the grounds that Pliny does not clearly identify a blue cheese.There is no clear consensus on the meaning of Pliny's description—it has been variously interpreted as a reference tofromage frais, cheese pickled ingrape-juice, and evenfondue,as well as a reference to Roquefort.
By the middle ages, Roquefort had become a recognized cheese. On 4 June 1411,Charles VIgranted a monopoly for the ripening of the cheese to the people ofRoquefort-sur-Soulzonas they had been doing for centuries.
By 1820, Roquefort was producing 300 tonnes a year, a figure that steadily increased throughout the next century so that by 1914 it was 9,250.
In 1925, the cheese was the recipient of France's firstAppellation d'Origine Contrôléewhen regulations controlling its production and naming were first defined.In 1961, in a landmark ruling that removed imitation, theTribunal de Grande InstanceatMillaudecreed that, although the method for the manufacture of the cheese could be followed across the south of France, only those cheeses whose ripening occurred in the natural caves of Mont Combalou in Roquefort-sur-Soulzon were permitted to bear the name Roquefort.
Roquefort is made entirely from the milk of theLacaunebreed of sheep. Prior to theAppellation d'Origine Contrôlée(AOC) regulations of 1925, a small amount of cow's or goat's milk was sometimes added. Around4.5 L (1+1⁄4US gal) of milk is required to make one kilogram of Roquefort.
Roquefort is produced throughout thedépartementofAveyronand part of the nearbydépartementsofAude,Lozère,Gard,HéraultandTarn.As of 2009, there are seven Roquefort producers. The largest-volume brand by far isRoquefort Société[fr]made by theSociété des Caves de Roquefort,since 1990 a subsidiary ofLactalis.Other producers are Papillon, Carles,Gabriel Coulet[fr],Fromageries occitanes[fr], Vernières and Le Vieux Berger.
Around three million cheeses were made in 2005 (18,830 tons) making it, afterComté, France's second-most-popular cheese.Roquefort has a high content of freeglutamate, 1,280 mg per 100 g of cheese.
The mold that gives Roquefort its distinctive character (Penicillium roqueforti) is found in the soil of the local caves. Traditionally, the cheesemakers extracted it by leaving bread in the caves for six to eight weeks until it was consumed by the mold. The interior of the bread was then dried to produce a powder. In modern times, the mold can be grown in a laboratory, which allows for greater consistency. The mold may either be added to thecurdor introduced as anaerosolthrough holes poked in the rind.
The regional cuisine in and aroundAveyronincludes many Roquefort-based recipes for main-course meat sauces, savory tarts and quiches, pies, and fillings.
TheAppellation d'origine contrôléeregulations that govern the production of Roquefort have been laid down over a number of decrees by theINAO. These include:
Penicillium roquefortidoes not producepenicillin.However, due to the presence of other anti-inflammatory proteins,it was common in country districts for shepherds to apply this cheese to wounds to avoidgangrene.
The presence ofanti-inflammatorycompounds was confirmed by a 2012 study.A study from 2013 found that proteins from Roquefort cheese inhibitchlamydiapropagation andlipopolysaccharide(LPS) leukocyte migration.