The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1894-04-06
ROCQUEFORT AND ITS CHEESE.

Out OF ROcquefOrt, little village of 800
souls, situated in the Department of Aveyren,
southern France, the world gets Its ROGUE
forth cheese. If you take train-or better,
as we did, Dike-at Bezieres and journey to
station Tournemire, on the road to Clement
Ferrand, you find yourself at the foothills of
Rocqueforth. If you look up the mountain
side you will see Rocquefort perched above
some 81 ifs. In the mountains is huge cave,
and in this cave all the cheese made in the
neighborhood. as well as much from the de-
partments Lozere Herault, Gard, and Tam,
is prepared. There is no other such cave, no
such cheese as Rocqueforth, for the cave it is,
apd skill of man or women, that gives ROGUE
folt its peculiarities of Taste and color.
A shepherd lad, so runs the legend, left
quite large piece Of bread and cheese,
prepared from the milk of his own goats in
this cavern. Returning some time afterward
he found, to his surprise, that his cheese not
only was not dried up or rotted but tasted
better than before. Besds, the bread crumbs
left in contact with the cheese caused the
greenisll-5lue veins found now in the famous
cheese Thevillagers told of the result tested its
with results very satisfactory. As far back as
1910 Rocquehfort's cheese was found famous,
and ii is mentioned in many ancient chronicles
The worth of the cavern to the little village
will be seen in the yearly production, upward
of 100000 pounds.
Rochefort, or Rocquefort, is prepared from
sleeps milk excus lively, and goats or cows
milk may make good cheeses, but they won't
make Rochefort. The sheep are named
lArzares, and originally belong in the high
tablelands or plateaus, which border the farm.
They eat little, are easily satisfied, and yield
per capita yearly thirtytive to forty-ive pounds
of cheese. Tle lambs are not | .ft long with
their own dams, but are either soil, brought
ur on the bottle or by other sheep. The sheep
are MIXED morning and evening. The milk,
as soon as it is taken from the sheep, is
Immediately placed over the fire and heated
almost, but never quite, up to the boiling
point Otherwise the milk and curds are
treated as in the preparation of other cheeses,
except that little cIustcrumbs Of bread are
mixed with it to produce the blue veins
alluded to above. II is true as sometimes
ulged. that this color comes from Alpine
herbs.
After the cheese is made it is put into rooms
to dry. AS soon as certain degree of dryness
is reached it is removed to the cave. Here it
gets those little touches that make it ROGUE
fort against all the worlds art. Why? How >
Nobody knows. Except this-the cave is
regular, all the year around, in temperature,
and has air draughts running in it from Janu
airy to January. 1t is supposed that the
temperature is due to openings into sub
underground sea. At all events,
some +, happy natural combination gives
the peculiu results, and no efforts of art have
ever even partially succeeded in attaining
them. If the temperature changed the
fermentation would change; If the moisture
was more, it would make the cheese SO soft
that it would not keep together, and if less
would be too dry.
The cave is owned by joint stock COM
pany. This company buys the cheese from
around. OF course, great care mus be taken
in preparing and only experts in testing are
sent out to buy. The cave is fitted up with
oak shelves OF which the cheeses are placed.
In this way 1t has been Utilized that $1,000
square yards ofsurface have been obtained.
During the six months that it takes to make.
the cheese it has to pass through many processes
First of all it must be rubbed three days with |
fine salt and as often as the melted salt, |
mngling with the cheese, mikes mass of
soft matter this is scraped away. 1t is then
taken to machine filled with needles and run |
by steam. Here it is pricked full of little |
holes, into which afterward the air of the cave |
penetrates. All the work is done by women,
who besides bed and board, get 500 to $125
a year. The cave is so coli and damp that
the women must wear woolens winter and
summer 1t is curious sight in sammer to
see these women cl I'd a. one finds women
clad only in northern ATTITUDES in winter
The people are clean, hosp able, and good
natured. They have only very vague notion
h)wever, of what the world thinks of their
cheese. lhey know 1t is good they prepare
t because it is the only means of prosperity
The Paris prices, however, Of those of London
Chicago. and Now York, appear to them
absolutely incredible. There is a rugged
ustcity among the hills The people are
mple as the peasants Of Palestine in the
SINE of Chris. They take off their hats and
DOW their heads as Millet has told us in his
,eantiful picture of the angelus.