Roquefort

Roquefort is a blue-green marbled blue cheese made ​​from raw sheep's milk, which is produced in the area around the French village of Roquefort -sur- Soulzon in the barren region of Rouergue in the Aveyron. The Roquefort in 1925 received the first French cheese the AOC seal, which he enjoys the protection of a designation of origin.

History

The Roquefort has a very long tradition: Even the Romans knew roquefort cheese -like, as Pliny the Elder in 79 mentioned. Around 1060 the Roquefort is under this name first mentioned in Kloster books, gave Charles VI in 1411. the inhabitants of Roquefort the monopoly for the ripening of cheese in limestone caves of the mountain Combalou. Its origin region is located in the Lozère, l' Aveyron, Tarn, Aude, Hérault and Gard. Today Roquefort is the world so popular that the domestic Lacaune sheep can provide milk to meet the demand no longer sufficient, so the reference area for the Lacaune sheep milk has been extended and may also be sent from the Pyrenees and Corsican pre-produced cheese to Aveyron, so that then can mature in the caves of Roquefort. As a guarantee mark the cheese pays the AOC seal a red sheep in an oval frame.

In Australia and New Zealand only heat-treated ( pasteurized thermized or ) milk products may be traded since 1994, while products made ​​from raw milk are occupied because of a possible health hazard with a trade ban. Therefore, in these two countries, the sale of raw milk cheeses including Roquefort is prohibited. For New Zealand, the prohibition nevertheless continue to apply for Australia France could obtain one from 2005, valid, limited to the Roquefort Exemption.

Production

The production of Roquefort is not complicated, but requires great care during ripening. First, the cheese-maker pours the milk morning along with the evening milk the previous day. The mixture is thick set with rennet, then the fraction is divided and ladled into perforated molds so that the whey runs out. Now the cheese is added to a culture of Penicillium roqueforti noble mold.

To produce the crops specially large quantities of rye bread loaves are baked, which must be very dry and indoor relative humid outside. The cheeses are stored until they rot away from the inside. The mold thus obtained is pulverized and used for cheese production.

In the French department of Aveyron of the real Roquefort is produced, traditionally it is made from raw sheep's milk and is the only blue cheese, which must bear the name. For a week, the cheese remains in perforated clay molds in a ripening room and is regularly turned, then the cheeses are placed in the caves of Combalou and lifted from the mold and salted. Thus, the fungus can unfold, the cheese pierced with needles must ( " piqued " ) are, a process that is run today by machine. About the needle channels oxygen enters into the cheese, which the fungus can better spread.

About three weeks later, the cheeses are wrapped in tin foil and after-ripening for another three months or longer brought into darker and cooler parts of the caves.

The vaulted cellar, are founded by farmers in 1842 " Societe des Caves ", the Community of Roquefort cheese and are still partially since the 17th century, numerous crevices, Fleurines called, allow fresh air to enter. The relatively constant temperatures (6-13 ° C) and the humidity up to saturation for optimum ripening conditions. Just after the village of Roquefort -sur- Soulzon are a total of 17 caves that stretch across 12 floors up to two kilometers deep into the rock. Each of these caves provides each with slightly different conditions and brings a subtype of Roquefort, each with slightly varying severity of mold growth and flavor out.

At the end of ripening, the cylindrical cheeses are halved with a weight between 2.5 kg to 2.9 kg in order to examine the intensity and uniformity of the mold visually. Based on the examination, the cheeses are divided into different types and levels of quality.

Properties

The cheese has virtually no cortex and comes as a half or quarter cylinder in tin or aluminum foil wrapped for sale. The soft, crumbly dough is white to off-white and evenly interspersed with gray-green fungus veins. He has a unique milk flavor with hints of nuts and raisins, is spicy and full of spicy with 52 % fat in dry matter. The Roquefort uniquely combines five taste qualities - it is salty, bitter ( by the noble rot ), sharp ( also through the mold), sour ( by the fermented milk) and sweet ( by the milk sugar). In June, when there is the first Roquefort of the year, it tastes fresh and young. In the autumn he is the most piquant and powerful. Produced for the domestic market cheese is less salty than export goods. A crumbly edge and little mold are signs of poor quality. Excellent Roquefort carries additional designations such as Surchoix or sélectionné par la Confrérie des Chevaliers du button Fromage de France.

Use

Roquefort is a part of a classic cheese plate. You will enjoy it best pure with celery or grapes, but also baguette and pear or black bread and watercress fit. Wrapped in foil in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator kept the cheese remains fresh for long. In the warm kitchen of Roquefort is ideal for all recipes with blue cheese, eg in the form of Roquefort sauce or beef tenderloin steak with Roquefort. The classic accompaniment to drink Roquefort is a port wine, but also a rich red wine such as Châteauneuf -du- Pape, a noble- sweet white wine such as Sauternes or a white dessert wine such as Muscat fit excellently to Roquefort. Also a dry berry selection may perfectly fit for this cheese.