The secret of the production of such a treasure is kept in strict secrecy: the real Rocofort is produced only in one place, in the ancient province of Rouergue, located south of the Massif Central in France. Among the green hills and mountain plateaus is hidden the small town of Roquefort, where the world's most famous "blue" was born.
The inhabitants of this area have been breeding sheep from time immemorial: as archaeologists testify, the first cheese production began here as early as 2700 BC. There are legends about how Roquefort appeared: some say that the shepherd boy simply forgot his modest breakfast in the cave because of the rain, while others (and this is more romantic) that the boy was more years old, and once, having driven the herd to pasture, he saw in the distance a beautiful shepherdess. So beautiful that the young man completely lost his head: he left his flock under the supervision of a dog, threw a bundle with simple provisions (a piece of bread and a piece of sheep's cheese) into the shadow of the cave and rushed after the mysterious stranger. As expected, he did not catch up with her, and, having lost an unknown amount of time in the mountains, returned frozen, tired and hungry. During this time, the bread became so stale that it turned into stone, and the unfortunate womanizer had no choice but to swallow a piece of cheese covered with green mold. The legend does not tell us whether the shepherd found his beloved, and whether they lived happily ever after, but the cheese, which turned out to be very tasty, had a brilliant fate.
Experts date the appearance of Roquefort to a variety of periods, but no matter what disputes they may have, already in 12 AD the poet Columel cited the first recipe based on Roquefort in his works, and in 76 AD. the ancient historian Pliny the Younger, author of Natural History, in one of its 37 volumes, described a cheese that was very popular among the nobility of Rome: Roquefort. Later, the Emperor Charlemagne, who tasted food at a visit to the Bishop of Rouergue, was imbued with such a love for Roquefort that every year several loaded carts crossed all of France to deliver cheese to his residence in Aix-La-Chapelle.
Unlike, whose secret of production spread all over the world, Roquefort was protected as early as the 15th century: Charles VI, King of France, in 1411 gave the inhabitants of Roquefort a monopoly on cheese making, and declared the lime caves in which it was kept a reserve. But the cheese was so popular that counterfeits continued to multiply, and in 1611 the Parliament of Toulouse issued a special decree against the sellers of fake Roquefort: all the privileges given to the real producers successively by Charles VI, François I, Henry II and Louis XIV for the protection of products were confirmed.
The fame of Roquefort only grew. In the 18th century, Casanova's great lover recognized the almost magical properties of cheese: the return of love and even “maturation” of a just beginning relationship. You can imagine the excitement that began ... Since the 19th century, Roquefort Société has been producing Roquefort: it became so famous that it even received the Order of the Legion of Honor in 1867.
Roquefort production is highly regulated thanks to the 1925 AOC (controlled original name). It all starts with sheep's milk: it must be raw and whole, and, most importantly, produced only by sheep of the Lacon breed grazing in the Roquefort area (now these are the modern departments of Aveyron, Tarn, Herault, Lozere (Lozere), Gard (Gard), Aude (Aude)). From one sheep, you can get up to 46 kilograms of cheese per year: for the production of about 2.9 kg of Roquefort (even before aging), 12-13 liters of milk are needed. Every day for 8 months (the period when the sheep are milked) the collected milk arrives at the dairy: it is heated to 32 degrees, then the spores of the noble mold Penicillum Roqueforti, sourdough, are added to it, and all that remains is to wait for the milk to sour. The resulting mass is cut, laid out in molds, the excess liquid is filtered off and salted. Each form has its own number so that you can track where and when, from what milk this cheese was prepared. Then comes the most important moment - ripening. 48 hours before, the cheese is pierced so that air can penetrate and mold can develop. Maturation should only take place in the famous Roquefort caves. The wooden platforms are impregnated with coarse salt for resistance to bacteria: plus the wood absorbs moisture, which allows maintaining a constant moisture level in the grotto. The order in which the cheeses are arranged has its own peculiarity: the air must circulate absolutely freely around each cheese mold. The faults formed as a result of the destruction of the mountain range and connecting the grotto and the mountainside are both light and the soul of a cheese cellar. Natural ventilation takes place both in summer and in winter: by opening or closing the air ducts, specialists regulate the temperature and humidity. Little by little, Penicillum Roqueforti develops from the heart of the cheese, and delicate marble veins appear. The salt, in turn, penetrates from the contours to the center in a few weeks: the cheeses must be “naked”, without any wrapping, for at least 14 days. They can then be wrapped in foil and transported to another cave, where they will slowly ripen. “Sleep,” as the cheese makers say. Finally, after 3-10 months, the cheeses are ready for sale. Roquefort is best tasted from April to October (after 5 months of ripening), but it is also good from March to December. You can buy Roquefort in pieces or in portions, but it is better, of course, to take from a whole circle.
Choosing the right Roquefort is not so difficult: delicate creamy ivory-colored flesh, velvety blue-green veins all over the surface, the cheese does not flake or crumble when cut. Transparent “tears” with a yellow sheen that appear on its surface when the temperature changes does not mean that the cheese is spoiled, on the contrary, it is a sign of high quality. The smell is strong, but delicate, complex bouquet is felt immediately in the vicinity of the product. Roquefort melts in your mouth: the taste should not be too salty, balanced, unique - some find in it the flavor of hazelnuts, others - of herbal roots.
This cheese can be eaten on its own for dessert, but if you are already used to sandwiches, go for “rustic” bread, with a crispy crust and tender pulp. Most importantly, do not torture Roquefort with a knife! The delicate structure of the mold inside is easy to crush and destroy with an ordinary, even the most sharpened knife. Take either a special roquefort knife (wide and short blade) or a “roquefortaise” (la roquefortaise): a small machine whose cutting element is a stretched wire. By the way, the Roquefort slicer is ideal for any “blue” cheese. If you can do without bread, try the combination of Roquefort and Muscat grapes, fresh dates or prunes: an unexpected salty-sweet combination will appeal to many gourmets. Roquefort with walnuts or celery is also good.
A delicacy like Roquefort does not last long: 3-4 weeks after opening. And yet, in order to preserve all its taste, it is worth taking some measures: first, when buying, stock up on a special refrigerating bag or package - temperature changes are detrimental to cheese. At home, immediately put the Roquefort on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator (temperature 5-10 degrees). Remove the cheese at least 30 minutes before tasting, and if you want to feel the full bouquet of taste and aroma, wait an hour. After tasting, if there is anything left, immediately store it in an airtight container and back to the refrigerator.
1. For the production of Roquefort cheese, traditionally sheep's milk is used, but it is possible to use cow's milk. Milk must be ripe (24-25 ° T for cow and 28-32 ° T for sheep)
2. Adding the starter culture, then adding the mold culture (eg NGL + PR), the application rate is calculated according to the recommendations of the starter culture manufacturer.
3. Introduction of rennet t \u003d 29-32 ° С
4. Coagulation 30-40 min. The curd should be tight.
5. Cutting the curd into cubes of 12-15 mm, after which the cheese mass is kneaded for 40-60 minutes, stopping every 10-15 minutes so that the cheese mass is compacted.
6. The end of the processing of the curd is determined by the density of the curd and the acidity of the whey (for sheep's milk, the acidity of the whey should be - 22-26 ° T, for cow's 18-20 ° T)
7. Release of grain into forms. The molds are filled with cheese mass with a layer 3-4 cm thick. If no mold culture was added to the milk, sprinkle each such layer of cheese mass with a small amount of powdered dry culture of Pen mold. Roqueforti, retreating from the edges of the curd by 1.5-2.0 cm.
8. The temperature of the room where the formation takes place should be at the level of 18-20 ° C so that the curd mass does not cool down
9. Self-pressing within 3-4 hours
10. Drying is carried out in a warm room for 35-45 hours, turning the cheeses first after 3 hours, then after 8 hours. and finally after 10-12 hours. Sauna temperature 18-22 ° С, air humidity 90-95%. During the drying period, the lactic acid process is very active, the cheeses shrink somewhat. The moisture content of the cheese is 45-50%, the cheese takes on the smell of fresh sour dough, pH \u003d 4.7-4.9
11. After drying, the cheeses are removed from the molds by washing with clean cold or warm (18-20 ° C) water and starting to salting
12. Salting is performed in saturated brine (concentration not less than 20%) T≤15 ° C (optimally 10-12 ° C) for 4-5 days. After salting, the cheese should have a slightly higher salt content than at the end of maturation. Then the cheeses are lightly washed and placed on the edge in special stands for drying during the day.
13. Next, the cheeses are pierced through (from the top to the bottom circle) for air access. On each head, from 30 to 40 through punctures are made with a special machine, the diameter of the needles \u003d 3mm. When mold develops slowly, the cheeses are pierced again.
14. Maturation is carried out in chambers at 6-9 ° C, humidity 90-95% and constant air flow. Cheese should be placed on the edge at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other.
15. During the ripening process, it is necessary to ensure that mucus and mold do not form on the shelves, to prevent sticking of holes and deformation of the heads. The cheeses are rotated on their axis once every 2 days.
16. The finished product has a fat mass fraction of at least 50.0% in dry matter, ppm. moisture not more than 45.0%, ppm salt not more than 5.0%. Roquefort has a pungently salty, spicy, peppery taste and a specific smell. The dough is lightly oily, slightly crumbly livery, from white to slightly yellow, blue-green mold is evenly distributed throughout the dough at a distance of 1.5-3 mm from the side surface.
Roquefort cheese - for real cheese gourmets. Not everyone can eat it. It has a special pungent taste and aroma. Plus, it's moldy. This cheese was first made in France. There it was a staple of farmers who loved to eat it with freshly baked bread.
What does it taste like?
Roquefort is a white crumbly cheese with streaks of green mold and a specific aroma. If you close your eyes and put a piece in your mouth, you will immediately feel the salty, creamy taste, but this will only be until you taste the sharp and pungent taste of green mold.
A typical roquefort head weighs between 2.5 and 3 kg. and is about 10 cm thick. Each kilogram of cheese consists of 4.5 liters of milk. Roquefort has no crust.
What kind of mold is in cheese?
Some people really dislike the sight of green mold and hate its strong smell. They generally believe that moldy cheese is spoiled and should not be eaten. But this mold is unusual. It is special and distinguishes Roquefort cheese from all others. You can only meet her in French caves. It originally appeared on cheese and bread that was forgotten in the cave. It takes 6 to 8 weeks to grow it to the desired state. Now, however, Roquefort is not always prepared in caves, since the mold needed for it can also be obtained in the laboratory.
Stories and legends
According to some reports, Roquefort cheese was first mentioned in chronicles dating back to the 11th century.
France is all steeped in romanticism and interesting stories, cheese did not escape this fate. It is known about Roquefort that one shepherd went to look for his sheep, wandered into a cave, saw a beautiful lady passing by and fell in love with her. So much so that he lost his sheep and forgot his cheese sandwich in the cave. After a while, he returned to his place and found that his cheese was moldy and tasted even better! This is how Roquefort appeared.
Manufacturers
In 2009, there were 7 major producers of Roquefort in the world. The largest of these is "Roquefort Societe" (Socit des Caves de Roquefort), it produces about 60% of the world's Roquefort cheese.
If you are lucky enough to visit french province of Rouerguedon't forget to visit the cheese factory, which is also open to tourists.
How does cheese production affect the development of the region?
The production process is said to involve 4,500 people who care for the sheep at 2,100 milk farms and other cheese making processes. You cannot do anything else in the town of Roquefort.
Roquefort production requirements:
1. Milk intended for cheese must be delivered to the factory no later than 20 days before production starts.
2. Sheep whose milk can be used must only be of a certain breed.
3. There must be a pasture for the sheep, they cannot be kept only indoors.
4. At the very least, grain or other feed that the sheep consume must be produced in the Roquefort Caves area.
5. For making cheese, fresh and unpasteurized milk should be used.
6. The mold used in cheese production should only be found in French cheese caves.
7. You can only salt the cheese with dry salt.
8. The entire maturation process for Roquefort is at least 90 days. All this should take place in certain caves in the region.
9. Cheese can only be cut, packaged and stored within the Roquefort area.
When is the best time to buy Roquefort cheese?
Although you can buy cheese all year round, the best is sold from April to October.
At home, keep the cheese in its original packaging or in aluminum foil at the bottom of the refrigerator or in the cellar.
Before use, the cheese must be removed from the refrigerator for 3 minutes to warm it up a little.
Which wine goes well with Roquefort?
If you ask the French about this, then each of them will tell you many tips with a detailed explanation of their choice. For starters, you can try Roquefort with Medoc and Sauternes.
Making a cheese platter
According to the rules, there must be at least three types of cheese on the cheese plate offered for the snack. Take for example soft brie or camembert, roquefort blue cheese, and hard cantal, comte or beaufort cheese. Serve with wine, which has a tonic and appetite-stimulating effect, for example.
Blue cheese and French folklore
It is said that before the invention of penicillin, the French used slices of cheese on open wounds to avoid gangrene. It looks like they were on the right track!
Roquefort cheese is a French blue cheese. It is made from sheep milk. Traditional Roquefort is made only in the Rouépres province in the south of France.
Roquefort cheese production technology
Roquefort cheese (see photo below) is made from good-quality raw or pasteurized milk with an acidity of 19 ° T, which is brought to 23-25 \u200b\u200b° T before clotting, for which 3-5% lactic acid bacteria starter is added to the milk. The coagulation temperature of milk is 29-32 ° C, duration is 1-1.5 hours.
Photo Roquefort cheese
The curd is cut into cubes 1-1.5 cm in size, then the grain is carefully kneaded for 40-45 minutes to the required density.
To drain the whey, the finished grain, together with a part of the remaining whey, is laid out for 30-40 minutes on a table covered with serpentine.
The dried and caked cheese mass is crushed on crushers, stirred and laid out in molds.
Photo getting a clot of Roquefort cheese
During the production process, namely molding, the roquefort cheese mass is seeded layer by layer with Penicillium roqueforti mold powder.
The thickness of each layer of cheese mass is 2-3 cm, the number of mold layers is 3-4.
10-15 grams of mold powder is consumed per 100 kg of cheese mass.
Filled forms of Roquefort cheese for self-pressing and drying are left for 2-3 days in a room with an air temperature of 18-22 ° C.
On the first day, the cheeses are turned over 3 times: after 10-20 minutes and then after 10-12 hours.
On the 2nd and 3rd day, they are turned over every 12 hours.
The end of drying is judged by the pleasant sour-milk aroma of Roquefort cheese.
On the third day, Roquefort cheese is freed from molds, washed and salted with dry salt or brine.
In the first case, the cheeses are rubbed with fine dry salt every other day for 8-10 days at a salt room temperature of 8-10 ° C.
Ambassador
When salting in brine, Roquefort cheese is placed for 4-5 days in 22-24% brine (temperature 13-15 ° C). After that, they are washed and dried on the shelves within 24 hours.
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Ripening of Roquefort
To provide air access to the inside of the roquefort head and the development of mold, the cheeses, after drying, are pierced on a special machine with needles with a diameter of 3 mm, making 30-40 through punctures on the cheese web.
When cooked, Roquefort ripens in the basement at an air temperature of 6-8 ° C and a humidity of 90-95%.
Ripening Roquefort cheese is on the rib on grooved shelves 25 cm wide with a depression in the middle.
In the case of increased development of mold, the cheeses are laid with the flat side after 1-1.5 months.
Photo of the ripening of Roquefort cheese according to the technology of its production
In the process of leaving, the cheese is rubbed every other day and excess mucus is removed.
Roquefort matures within 2 months. Ripe cheese is wrapped in foil.
Matured for up to 4-5 months at a temperature of 6-8 ° C, Roquefort cheese with mold becomes even more spicy.
Pictured is blue French cheese
But today I'm not talking about him ...
The pungent smell and pungent taste of this cheese streaked with mold is known all over the world. You may not like it, but Roquefort is considered the king of cheeses and this is an obvious fact.
The original Roquefort is produced in a small village in the south of France, Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, near which lies a massive limestone plateau. The gradual erosion has created a natural wonder, making a hollow cave. In some ways it even resembles the Roquefort cheese itself. Natural limestone caves are dark and damp. Humidity of at least 90% makes them ideal for ripening blue cheese. The necessary mold, Penicillium roqueforti, is present in the soil of the caves. According to legend, a shepherd of a sheep flock decided to have a snack in a cool cave. But he saw a beautiful girl and ran after her. Returning a few months later, again to the same place, he found his sheep cheese covered with mold. The shepherd ventured to try the food and liked the cheese. And so Roquefort was born.
Well, I'll tell you this story in more detail ...
FROMamong the cheese-makers from Parma there are those who determine the degree of cheese readiness in a 'musical' way - tasting 'rumors'. Striking the cheese with silver hammers, they determine by sound whether it is ripe. One of the most original is the French Roquefort cheese. The first mention of it appeared more than 900 years ago, in 1700. Nowadays, Roquefort cheeses from France, which have long been produced in the Roquefort area in the department of Avtron, with its caves extremely favorable for the ripening of these cheeses, have few competitors.
And everything, according to the legend, began with a little shepherd who grazed sheep in the mountains near Roquefort.
Once the shepherd, carried away by the shepherdess, invited her to spend time with him in one of the many caves in which Aveyron abounds. The conversation about scientific terms undoubtedly took the shepherd and shepherdess a lot of time, because when they were distracted from him, the sheep had already scattered in all directions. The shepherd rushed to gather his flock, and did not manage to eat his supper - rye bread and cottage cheese from sheep's milk remained in the cave.
Then the shepherd returned to that cave once more (with the same shepherdess, it is not known). And the serendipity had already taken its toll - while the shepherd was cultivating his own field, he was working hard on the cheese penicillium roqueforti... Roquefort was born as a result of the fungus; Whether anything was born from scientific conversations, we do not know, but local residents from infancy showed a love for the cheese called "Roquefort", which, perhaps, is a scientific confirmation of the theory about the memory of smells even before conception.
Pliny the Elder wrote about roquefort, and they say that Caesar himself, staying in a nearby village, appreciated the taste of blue cheese. The neighboring village, by the way, was called Sant'Afric, after the Gascon bishop who fled from the Visigoths. The villagers are understandably referred to as Santafrians ever since. The lands where Africans and Roquefort live are almost African, bright red. The mountains, or rather the foothills of the Massif Central, are as flat as the tables of Gargantua, and the karst plateaus are also.
The village itself, in the caves of which Roquefort is cooked, bears the same name with cheese - you cannot confuse it. One can only confuse the general name: the French call their most beloved, moldy, pungently fragrant treasures "blue cheeses". Each of them has its own penicilliu:over some roqueforti, over others - camemebertii... The cheeses are called blue, but the roquefort mold is more green in appearance. It is also found in the fourme d'ambert and bleu d'auvergne Auburn cheeses, as well as in the British stilton. But the fungus is still called "Roquefort".
Noble cheese, they say about it. And not only thanks to Caesar. And not even because Charlemagne, returning from Spain, stayed with the bishop in Albi and - you guessed it - tasted cheese. Then it was Friday. The bishop had no fish. He gave the emperor the best he had — cheese. The hungry emperor gloomily picked the mold out of the dish, until the bishop, plucking up courage, indicated to the noble guest that he was throwing out the best. The emperor tried and ordered that from now on, two boxes of cheese would be delivered to the court in Aachen every month, having previously cut each head in half and made sure that the fungus had already done its job.
Today, to make sure the cheese is ready, it is drilled with a special key, a thin slice is taken out (as in the photo) and carefully inserted back. I saw how father and daughter Karl, the owners of the best and only non-industrial cellar in Roquefort, did it before my very eyes.
The cellars in Roquefort are the very caves in which the shepherd talked to the villagers. The village was built right on the mountain, and inside the mountain a strange geological paradox took place. Not now, of course, but back in the Jurassic period, when volcanoes raged over the future Aveyron, the rock collapsed inside itself, forming cracks. Every real cellar has its own crevice, a hole leading into the rock. And the houses in Roquefort can boast of "fllerines" - holes from which the mountain blows coldly - in the cellars.
Roquefort was the first cheese to receive AOC protection back in 1929. The zone of its production was delineated in two kilometers by three hundred meters - "fllerins", which establish the temperature and humidity regime, are found only within these boundaries.
Thus, the Santafrians, although close neighbors, cannot produce Roquefort. And their shepherds, no matter how much you talk with the shepherdesses, will not give the world great cheese.
The village of Roquefort is small, only a few hundred people live in it. “We have fewer people than cheese,” say the locals. They received fiscal benefits and orders from kings of different eras. The Parliament of Toulouse protected Roquefort from counterfeiting as early as the 16th century. Diderot called him "the king of cheeses". In the 19th century, ambassadors and consuls took him away with them. Roquefort helped them maintain the glory of France. The head of the Midi-Pyrenees region sent the head of the roquefort to Barack Obama, congratulating him on the investment.
A narrow street - it seems only one - houses, rather not village, but urban, the main thing is happening inside, and even below. Dolphin Karl received the cellar from the hands of her father, Jacques Karl, so they use the keys to drill test "carrots" from the cheese heads together, the elderly owner cannot help but enter the cellar. In all the other cellars, the famous Société and Papillon, Roquefort is also good, but only in Carles it is kept on old oak shelves, from which it gathers tastes and smells like expensive wine.
The cellars go downhill, three floors, a large, scary and still remembering Vulcan fllerine below it is closed with a lattice, as a precaution. Alas, you cannot visit them, although I was and show you photographs. But you can go to the shop at the cellar and buy the best roquefort in the world.
Even before the cheese is refined, it must be cooked. Sheep of the lacaune breed graze in the vicinity, on the territory clearly delineated by the appellation (this time Sant-Africa is included in it). The breed is rural, accustomed to mountain frosts. It is supposed to be fed with grass and grain grown in the same area. The noble fungus, in turn, grows on loaves of rye bread, next to which there is curdled milk. The finished fungus is turned into powder and poured into the freshly curdled milk. This is what Carles dairy farm workers add to the curd in the photos.
Carles is also the only cellar in which milk is curdled twice a day, from morning and evening milking. Dolphin Karl and her father have their own dairy in the vicinity. Jacques has other children, but only Dolphin from childhood was tied to him in the cellars, and she got them.
The crust of Carles Roquefort has a honey tint, and they try it without cutting, but scraping it with a sharp knife. Then, however, unable to resist, cut out piece by piece. Best tasted from May to October, after five months of affinity. Do not neglect the advice of the Albigensian bishop - he was a saint, even Charlemagne obeyed him. Don't cut out the mold with a knife, that's the best.
At the end of the 19th century, the Roquefort cheese making, gaining strength, received the name 'United Cellars'. From here the cheese went all over the world. Now Roquefort is made not only from sheep's milk, but also from cow's milk. The mold, which makes Roquefort green and gives the cheese a peculiar pungent taste, was named after the place of its discovery, the 'Roquefort Penicillium'. Roquefort production technology, of course, has undergone changes, but in some places until now this cheese is placed in caves for maturation. By the way, this mold is antibiotic in nature. In general, France is famous for its soft cheeses. Among them, in addition to Roquefort, the famous Camembert is world famous. These soft cheeses have a pungent, pungent taste, and some also smell.
Fresh unripened cheeses are also on sale. Almost every department in France has its own range of cheeses. All in all, it produces 660 thousand tons of cheeses per year, 300 names (we have 50). Some cheeses have been popular for centuries and grateful consumers of these cheeses celebrate the jubilees of their favorites. So, for example, in 1961, a solemn mass was held in the church of Maroli, dedicated to the millennium of the cheese of the same name (maroli). As you can see, this cheese is 100 years older than Roquefort.
Let us also recall the refined and noble taste of cheeses, which are given not by the skill of the cheese-maker and not by the quality of milk (although we must not forget about them either). The main reason is molds!
Yeast-like mushrooms
Moreover, the mold is different. Roquefort, gorgonzola and other cheeses of this type are inhabited by Penicillium-blue mold (hence their name - "blue cheeses"). And brie and others like it are infected, in the good sense of the word, with the yeast-like fungi Geotrichum candidum. But it is still not just mold, but noble - one might say, Mold with a capital letter. She, a noble mold, protects the cheese from unwanted infection, as it occupies the place where harmful microorganisms would like to settle.
Emperor Charlemagne, who discovered brie cheese in 774, called it "one of the finest dishes." Bree (which, by the way, is one of the oldest cheeses in the world) was reputed to be the best gift among counts and kings. Thus, Blanche of Navarre, Countess of Champagne, had the custom of sending brie as a gift to King Philip Augustus. It is called so - "cheese of kings".
Of the youngest cheeses, one can recall "Dorblu"; it was invented at the beginning of the 20th century in Germany. The recipe is kept secret. Danish blue cheese, Danabl, has a history of about 80 years; it was created as an analogue of Roquefort.
Hidden recipe
Everyone knows that penicillin living in Roquefort is useful. Even before the discovery of this fact, doctors gave moldy cheese to patients, hardly understanding why patients recover. But not only blue cheeses are healthy. So, at the beginning of the 20th century, a French doctor was treating seriously ill patients with Norman cheese covered with white mold. In honor of this doctor, grateful patients erected a monument near the village of Camembert.
The history of the appearance of this cheese to the world is no less romantic than the story of the shepherd and Roquefort cheese. From time immemorial, the monks knew the recipe for making Camembert, but they hid it from the hungry peoples, and then it was as if one of them revealed it to the girl Marie Arelle because she saved him from death during the French Revolution. So it was or not, but in 1928, on the square of the city of Vimoutier, grateful lovers of Camembert solemnly unveiled a monument to Marie Arel and their favorite cheese.
And by the way, moldy cheese is able to enhance creative inclinations in a person. One day Salvador Dali, having eaten Camembert for dinner, looked at his unfinished painting and saw the "flowing clock". This is how "The Persistence of Memory" was written. This fact is stated in the master's memoirs.
The noble mold adds spice to the cheese, and the longer the cheese is stored, the sharper it will be. Some cheeses have a light hazelnut flavor, like Roquefort.
Camembert has a mushroom flavor, and brie has a slight smell of ammonia. It's all about enzymes: growing on the surface or inside the cheese, the mold releases enzymes, which, in combination with the cheese, form a fusion of flavors. The yeast-like Geotrichum mushroom doesn't taste on its own, but what a delicious taste when combined with regular cow's cheese! Have you ever tried penicillin? If yes, then you hardly liked it, but eat Roquefort for a sweet soul.
Making cheese XIV century
Unfortunately, it is impossible to find real blue cheese these days. If, for example, Roquefort is produced according to the classic recipe (stored for three months in a limestone cave, so that the necessary mold appears on it by itself), then this cheese will be in constant shortage. Therefore, such cheeses are made industrially, contaminating the cheese with a pure culture of the desired mushroom, and Roquefort can be bought at any store.
English note
Of the English mold cheeses, the best known is Stilton, which, unlike other cheeses of this kind, comes in both blue and white. He gained fame through the efforts of the innkeeper Cooper Thornhill. One Thornhill in 1730 was passing through Leicestershire, and there on a small farm he was treated to blue cheese (which was not yet called "Stilton"). Delighted with the taste of the product, Thornhill immediately bought the exclusive right to sell the cheese, and he sold it at his Bell Inn in the village of Stilton. Hence the name. And the stagecoach route between London and Edinburgh passed by this inn. Of course, the passengers grabbed the cheese in flight. Soon all of England knew about the blue Steel-tone. Why England - all of Europe!
Cheese was falsified everywhere, technology was violated, measures were required to protect the name. Protected: now the name "Stilton" is protected by law, that is, it is forbidden to call this word any cheese produced outside the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. The irony is that the village of Stilton, which gave the cheese its name, is located in Cambridgeshire, and Stilton cheese cannot be produced there.
In Italy, Gorgonzola blue cheese is produced, named after a small village near Milan. Locals claim that they have known the recipe for over a thousand years. As if they used to produce stracchino cheese (translated from Italian - "tired") from the milk of cows tired from the long journey from the mountains. And now a certain cheese-maker, whose name has not remained in history, once violated the technology, and his cheese ripened interspersed with mold. Residents were delighted and began to violate the technology, and at the same time the copyright of an unknown cheese maker.
So don't be afraid of mold cheeses! History shows that no one has died of them yet, but as a medicine they were used ...
Cook in Russian
In Great Russia, not only blue cheese, but even ordinary hard cheeses were not made. Here the soils are poor, winters are long, the period of stall keeping of livestock is longer than in Europe, there is less fodder, and no milk production. The Russian peasant often kept a cow, not for the sake of milk, but for the sake of manure, as fertilizer.
They drank milk, of course, and tormented it, and made cottage cheese from it. And Russian cheeses were ripened from cottage cheese in a "raw" way, without heating. They were pressed and matured, held their shape tightly. Until now, what is baked from cottage cheese is called syrniki; until now, stores sell cottage cheese called "homemade cheese".
Peter I “infected” Russia with European cheeses. After him, the people ate their usual Russian cheese, and the nobles - hard imported or made here by the Dutch. Then he came up with the paradoxical word "cheese dairy": cheese - from the word "raw", and if it was cooked, then what kind of "raw" is it?
Nikolai Vereshchagin taught Russia how to cook cheese
The first domestic cheese-making factory, which filled up the whole country with its cheap cheese, appeared here at the end of the 19th century. Nikolai Vereshchagin, who was in charge of it (by the way, the brother of a famous battle painter), formulated the task as follows: "To teach the Russian peasantry to cook cheese and churn butter in a European manner." Well, they learned to imitate Europe, but the traditional Russian cheese has disappeared.
... By the way, who forgot
