How Does Blue Cheese Discovered Blue cheese is made from the milk of ewes or cows. The story goes that blue or ?bleu? (as some would have it) cheese was discovered quite by accident in a cave. It had been left there and was found many days later covered with a greenish blue mold. To the amazement of the villagers, it wasn?t spoilt. Despite its acrid taste, the cheese was appealing to the taste buds. The idea of actually simulating the conditions and making the cheese was struck upon, and the rest is history.
Scientists explain that the penicillium roqueforti and the penicillium glaucum fungi manifest themselves as blue-green mold spores in cheese that has been left about for a while. Cheese makers have bettered nature and fashioned their own range of blue cheeses by following a variety of methods. Instead of waiting for nature to do its work, manufacturers inject the mold into the cheese, or alternatively introduce the mold into the curds, at the time when the curds are separated from the whey. Many makers of cheese still age the cheeses in caves, from where the idea of this type of cheese originated.
Roquefort is a cheese for emperors. In fact, it was favored by the great Charlemagne himself. The village Roquefort-sur-Soulzon had permission from King Charles VI way back in 1411, to be the sole manufacturers of the blue cheese marketed under the name Roquefort. It is one of the oldest cheese manufacturing centers of the world and a proud upholder of tradition. Although the manufacturers have altered the process by injecting the penicillium roquefort fungus into the cheese, they still age the cheese in limestone caves. The reason for the alteration in the method is to make certain that the mold spreads uniformly in the cheese. The main ingredient is ewe?s milk. The cheese has a label bearing the brand of a red sheep. If there?s no red sheep icon, you probably haven?t got the genuine article.
Stilton is a rich cheese, with a flavor all its own. Strange as it may seem, this cheese is not processed in Stilton, a village in Huntingdonshire, England. It was on sale at the Bell Inn, the local pub in Stilton, hence the name. Made from the milk of local dairies in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, this is probably the most popular of blue cheeses in England, and dates back to 1720.
The sharp flavored Gorgonzola is a semi-hard cheese. Maytag and Danablu are other varieties of blue cheese.
Any gourmet will agree that blue cheese is among the world?s finest cheeses today. The cheese with blue veins running attractively across it has a distinctly strong and pungent flavor that makes it uniquely different from any other cheese. You have to acquire a taste for blue cheese, it is true, but once you?re hooked it?ll be the only cheese in the world for you.
Melinda Carnes is a staff writer at http://www.everything-gourmet.com and is an occasional contributor to several other websites, including http://www.coffee-enthusiast.com.
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