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23-401: Roquefort ( French pronunciation: [ʁɔkfɔʁ] ) is a sheep milk blue cheese from southern France . Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may bear the name Roquefort, as it is a recognised geographical indication , and has a protected designation of origin . The cheese

46-483: A green bell, and are called Comté Extra. Those cheeses scoring from 12 to 14 points are given a brown label and are called simply Comté. Any cheese scoring only 1 or 2 points for taste (out of the possible 9), or scoring below 12 overall, is prohibited from using the Comté name and is sold for other purposes. Comté is well known for its distinct terroir : it is made in 160 village-based fruitières (cheese-making facilities) in

69-455: A number of decrees by the INAO . These include: Roquefort has a high content of free glutamate , 1,280 mg per 100 g of cheese. Penicillium roqueforti does not produce penicillin . However, due to the presence of other anti-inflammatory proteins, it was common in country districts for shepherds to apply this cheese to wounds to avoid gangrene . The presence of anti-inflammatory compounds

92-413: Is classified as an Alpine cheese. The cheese is made in discs, each between 40 and 70 cm (16 and 28 inches) in diameter, and around 10 cm (4 inches) in height. Each disc weighs up to 50 kg (110 lb) with a fat in dry matter (FDM) around 45%. The rind is usually a dusty-brown colour, and the internal paste, pâte , is a pale creamy yellow. The texture is relatively hard and flexible, and

115-481: Is often called the "King of Cheeses" or the "Cheese of Kings", although those names are also used for other cheeses . According to legend, Roquefort cheese was discovered when a youth, eating his lunch of bread and ewes' milk cheese, saw a beautiful girl in the distance. Abandoning his meal in a nearby cave, he ran to meet her. When he returned a few months later, the mold ( Penicillium roqueforti ) had transformed his plain cheese into Roquefort. In 79 AD, Pliny

138-626: Is slowly released into the bloodstream, bringing the animal into estrus . In this way, ewes can be bred at different times throughout the year, providing farms with a year-round supply of milk. Meat and wool breeds of sheep lactate for 90–150 days, while dairy breeds can lactate for 120–240 days. Dairy sheep can produce higher yields of milk per ewe per year. Dairy sheep can produce 400–1,100 lb (180–500 kg) of milk per year while other sheep produce 100–200 lb (45–91 kg) of milk per year. Crossbred ewes produce 300–650 lb (140–290 kg) of milk per year. Sheep milk cheeses include

161-467: Is white, tangy, creamy and slightly moist, with veins of blue mold . It has a characteristic fragrance and flavor with a taste of butyric acid ; the blue veins provide a sharp tang. It has no rind; the exterior is edible and slightly salty. A typical wheel of Roquefort weighs between 2.5 and 3 kg (6 and 7 lb), and is about 10 cm (4 in) thick. Each kilogram of finished cheese requires about 4.5 liters of milk to produce. In France, Roquefort

184-508: The French Government registered 175 producers and 188 affineurs (agers) in France. Each cheese is awarded a score out of 20 by inspectors: the highest possible scores are 1 point for overall appearance, 1.5 for quality of rind, 3.5 for internal appearance, 5 for texture, and 9 for taste. Those cheeses scoring higher than 14 points are given a green casein label with the recognizable logo of

207-493: The Société des Caves de Roquefort . Around three million cheeses were made in 2005 (18,830 tons) making it, after Comté , France's second-most-popular cheese. The regional cuisine in and around Aveyron includes many Roquefort-based recipes for main-course meat sauces, savory tarts and quiches, pies, and fillings. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée regulations that govern the production of Roquefort have been laid down over

230-529: The feta of Greece , Roquefort of France, Manchego of Spain; Serra da Estrela from Portugal ; pecorino Romano (the Italian word for sheep is pecora ) and pecorino Sardo of Italy ; Pag cheese of Croatia; Ġbejna of Malta; and Gomolya of Hungary; and Bryndza ( Slovenská bryndza from Slovakia , brânza de burduf from Romania and Bryndza Podhalańska from Poland ). Whey cheeses are also made from sheep's milk: various ricottas of Italy (but

253-413: The whey is pressed out. After several hours the mould is opened and left to mature in cellars, first for a few weeks at the dairy, and then over several months elsewhere. The manufacture of Comté has been controlled by AOC regulations since it became one of the first cheeses to receive AOC recognition in 1958, with full regulations introduced in 1976. The AOC regulations for Comté prescribe: In 2005,

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276-410: The 80–100 days after lambing. Sheep naturally breed in the fall, which means that a majority of lambs are born in the winter or early spring. Milk production decreases and eventually stops when lambs are weaned or the days are shorter. Milk cannot be produced year-round. Through the use of controlled internal drug release (CIDR), ewes can be bred out of season. CIDR drugs contain progesterone , which

299-468: The Elder praised the cheeses of Lozère and Gévaudan and reported their popularity in ancient Rome ; in 1737, Jean Astruc suggested that this was a reference to an ancestor of Roquefort. The theory was widely taken up, and by the 1860s was being promoted by the Société des Caves . Others have dismissed the idea, on the grounds that Pliny does not clearly identify a blue cheese. There is no clear consensus on

322-531: The best-known are made from buffalo milk); anthotyros , mizithra , manouri , and xynomizithra of Greece (often with goat milk mixed in); various requeijão in Portugal. In Greece, yogurt is often made from sheep's milk. Sheep's milk is exceptionally high in fat and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and has a high level of solids, as compared to other kinds of milk, making it very suitable for cheese-making. In particular, sheep's milk produces much more cheese than

345-435: The meaning of Pliny's description—it has been variously interpreted as a reference to fromage frais , cheese pickled in grape-juice , and even fondue , as well as a reference to Roquefort. By the middle ages, Roquefort had become a recognized cheese. On 4 June 1411, Charles VI granted a monopoly for the ripening of the cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as they had been doing for centuries. By 1820, Roquefort

368-594: The method for the manufacture of the cheese could be followed across the south of France, only those cheeses whose ripening occurred in the natural caves of Mont Combalou in Roquefort-sur-Soulzon were permitted to bear the name Roquefort. Roquefort is made entirely from the milk of the Lacaune breed of sheep. Prior to the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) regulations of 1925, a small amount of cow's or goat's milk

391-422: The region, owned by farmers who bring milk from their own cows; strict production rules linking place and product; and the seasonal environmental effects. Comté cheeses go through the process of "jury terroir", where panels of trained volunteer tasters from Comté supply chain and from the region discuss and publish bi-monthly in the newsletter Les Nouvelles de Comté about the taste and their results. This jury terroir

414-491: The same amount of cow's milk. Comt%C3%A9 (cheese) Comté ( French pronunciation: [kɔ̃te] ) is a French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France bordering Switzerland and sharing much of its cuisine. Comté has the highest production of all French Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) cheeses, at around 65,000 tonnes (72,000 short tons) annually. It

437-460: The taste is mild and slightly sweet. Fresh from the farm, milk is poured into large copper vats where it is gently warmed. Each cheese requires up to 600 litres (160  US gal ) of milk. Rennet is added, causing the milk to coagulate (curdle). The curds are then cut into tiny white grains that are the size of rice or wheat which are then stirred before being heated again for around 30 minutes. The contents are then placed into moulds and

460-710: Was confirmed by a 2012 study. A study from 2013 found that proteins from Roquefort cheese inhibit chlamydia propagation and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) leukocyte migration. Sheep milk Specialized dairy breeds of sheep yield more milk than other breeds. Common dairy breeds include: In the U.S., the most common dairy breeds are the East Friesian and the Lacaune. Meat or wool breeds do not produce as much milk as dairy breeds, but may produce enough for small amounts of cheese and other products. Female sheep (ewes) do not produce milk constantly. Instead, they produce milk during

483-408: Was created by Florence Bérodier, a food scientist, to elaborate in response to a set of formidable challenges that Comté cheese underwent in the beginning for its unfamiliar taste and smell. "The jury terroir is there to speak of all the richness in the tastes of a Comté…" – the original member confirmed. For Comté cheese to be world-renowned, the quality improved, but the challenge stand still to create

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506-465: Was producing 300 tonnes a year, a figure that steadily increased throughout the next century so that by 1914 it was 9,250. In 1925, the cheese was the recipient of France's first Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée when regulations controlling its production and naming were first defined. In 1961, in a landmark ruling that removed imitation, the Tribunal de Grande Instance at Millau decreed that, although

529-427: Was sometimes added. Around 4.5 L ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 4  US gal) of milk is required to make one kilogram of Roquefort. The cheese is produced throughout the département of Aveyron and part of the nearby départements of Aude , Lozère , Gard , Hérault and Tarn . As of 2009, there are seven Roquefort producers. The largest-volume brand by far is Roquefort Société  [ fr ] made by

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