Bleu d’Auvergne is one of France’s more approachable blue cheeses, with a juicy-creamy texture similar to Roquefort, but with less of the piquancy associated with the famous cheese from Roquefort sur-Soulzon.
Unlike Roquefort, which is made of sheep’s milk, Bleu d’Auvergne is made of pasteurized cows’ milk. It is a name-controlled cheese, meaning manufacturers must adhere to strict standards, and it may only be made in the province of Auvergne, which lies in France’s Massif Central, an area of low volcanic mountains and plateaus in the south-central portion of the country.
According to legend and many sources, a French cheesemaker of Auvergne in the 1850s had the brilliant idea to inoculate a piece of his cheese with blue mold growing on a slice of rye bread. He later had a second brilliant idea, to pierce the cheese with long metal needles to permit oxygen to enter the cheese so the mold could grow throughout the curds in the center.
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