Roquefort

I happen to be a big fan of Roquefort cheese and was keenly interested in visiting the caves where it is made. Roquefort is a small village in the department of Aveyron and difficult to get to without a car. Patricia hadn't been there for years and her cousin Carol had never visited the caves. On Saturday, we decided to "make a day of it" and go and explore the caves and some of the nearby villages. We climbed into Patricia's car and drove northwest taking some of the narrow and windy roads off the main autoroute. In my opinion, the countryside to the northwest is more interesting and beautiful than some of the other areas I have travelled to since I've been here. There are rolling hills, rock formations, mountains, plateaus, terraces of vineyards, fields of crops and patches of scrubby vegetation. Patricia told me that in the next month or so, flocks of sheep and goats would be grazing, but right now it is still too cold. When we left in the morning the sun was shining and it was quite warm, but as we got closer to our destination, it became more cloudy and the Mistral moved in making the temperature much cooler. Luckily we had brought our warm coats and scarves to wear. After about an hour and a half, we arrived at the village of Roquefort. 

There are seven producers of Roquefort cheese in the village, the largest of which is Société des Caves de Roquefort responsible for 60% of the production. The following pictures are taken from the terrace of the Société overlooking the village and the surrounding countryside.

Following our picnic lunch, it was time for a tour of the caves. You might be wondering how Roquefort, a tangy and "smelly" cheese, came to be. Legend has it that a young shepherd who was minding his sheep in the hills of Roquefort saw a beautiful young maiden in the distance. He left his dog to mind the herd and put his lunch of bread and ewe's milk curds into the nearby cave to keep cool. After several days, he returned tired, hungry and without the girl. When he went to retrieve his lunch, the bread and cheese were moldy, but he was so hungry that he took a bite and found that it was delicious. So that was how Roquefort cheese was discovered.

The tour of the caves was led by a French guide, but fortunately I was also given some notes to follow in English. The village of Roquefort came to life following a natural disaster when part of the Combalou mountain collapsed. The collapse resulted in natural faults, called fleurines and caves which are now cheese cellars. The cellars have a constant temperature of 10 degrees C and a relative humidity of 90%. There is a constant air renewal because of the fleurines which are small tunnels that run from the cellars to the mountainside and can be as long as 1km. The fleurines have been fitted with doors and windows that can be opened or closed as determined by the master-ripeners.

A fleurine.

The Société des Caves owns 15 cellars and some of them are 11 stories high with fleurines on every story. Each cellar is unique in terms of size and shape, type of rock and ventilation and each produces its own line of characteristic Roquefort cheese.

A picture of the rock on the side of the cave.

Although we didn't see the cheese being made, we did learn about the process in a film. From January to July, milk is collected from ewes of the Lacaune breed. The milk is then curdled at the dairy and cultured with Penicillium Roqueforti, a microscopic fungus that gives the cheese its blue/green veins. The Société produces all its own penicillium and researchers have created 3 distinctive strains. Before the cheese is taken to the cellar for ripening, each cheese is placed under a board fitted with long needles 3 mm. in diameter. These needles create small cavities in the cheese allowing for aeration. Salt is also added added to the surface. The cheese is then placed by hand vertically along the wooden shelves with a small space in-between. Depending on the strain of the penicillium used and the cheese you want to obtain, the ripening stage can take anywhere between 14-25 days. The penicillium grows slowly from the centre of the cheese outwards. This natural fermentation causes the temperature of the cheese to slowly rise and melt the salt on the surface causing it to penetrate into the heart of the cheese.

Once the ripening stage in the natural cave is complete, it is important to stop the microbial growth. To do this, the cheese is wrapped in tinfoil by female workers known as cabanières. Apparently skilled cabanières can wrap up to 100 loaves a hour. That's impressive! The cheese is then left in a cold chamber to mature 3 to 12 months to acquire its special flavour. Once the maturation stage is complete, the cheeses are taken to the packaging room where the foil is removed and the cheeses are cut and packed by machines in aluminum or plastic for distribution.

At the end of the tour, we had a chance to taste three differents types of Roquefort: Société de1893, Cave des Templiers and Caves Baragnaudes. Yum.... I bought a package with all three. Not only is Roquefort excellent on its own, it pairs well with a sweet fruit or spicy bread or adds some punch to salads. A good red or sweet white wine brings out its flavours. I bought another package of a Roquefort from a different proprietor called Gabriel Coulet. The vendeuse there suggested that you pair it with a sweet white wine. Regardless, I love Roquefort!

Next blog....La Couvertoirade.