No, it’s not my former father in-law, or any of my friends in Lyme.
I’m talking about Roquefort, “the king of cheese and the cheese of kings.” I came to appreciate it rather late in life because, as you recall, I was raised on government cheese. There are many brands of blue cheese out there, both foreign and domestic, but nothing compares in taste, texture and aroma to Roquefort. But all this tangy excellence comes at a rather stiff price however, for it frequently sells at around $25 per pound retail. So what makes Roquefort so special anyway? And what’s with the name?
To begin with, it’s probably the oldest fine cheese in the world, pre-dating the Christian era, sought after by Roman emperors. It has one of the oldest protected product names in the world, awarded in Toulouse in 1669. Legend has it that 2,000 years ago a shepherd boy was having lunch. He left some sheep’s cheese and rye bread in a drafty, damp cave near the small town of Roquefort-Sur-Soulzon, on the dry, windy plateaus of southwest France. He came back around three months later to discover both the bread and cheese were covered with mold. Smart French boy – he threw out the bread and ate the cheese.
Three things make Roquefort special: (1) it’s made entirely from the raw ultra-rich milk from ewes that only graze on the surrounding plateau, (2) the mold spore that turns it blue-green only grows in these particular caves and (3) the cold, damp, windy caves of Mount Combalou are a unique environment that provides for perfect aging.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Shoreline Times