This past weekend, I had a day that would please any truly French man or woman—I visited the Roquefort caves. For those who don’t know, Roquefort is a French cheese well-known throughout most of the world for its strong taste. It is a bit similar to blue cheese but, in my opinion, far stronger and tough to swallow. Roquefort cheese, by European law, can only be produced in the town of Roquefort, about an hour and a half west of here. The process of making the cheese is quite disgusting and is as follows: The producers make the cheese using the milk of ewes. Next, they add mold (yes—green, smelly, icky mold) developed from burned yet doughy aged bread left in the caves. Then the cheese ages a couple of months longer in the caves and, VOILÀ, the moldy cheese is ready for consumption.
The last I heard, the US was “at war” with Roquefort cheese because of a European Union ban on imports of American beef due to the presence of hormones in the meat. The import rate for the cheese into the US spiked up to about 300% and, according to my host father, the price is sky-high in the US. It might be a good idea to keep an eye out for it and see how expensive it is. But you have been warned—it has a VERY particular taste, which is why my host father calls it “The King of Cheeses.” Eat at your own risk!
One of the tallest bridges in the world
La Couvertoide (OLD city built by the Templars during the Cruisades)
Look at all the cheese!/Someone got hungry and now the cheese stands alone...
Look at that DELICIOUS looking mold/Cheese wall painting
2 comments:
sweet cheesus!
this is pretty interesting.
I like cheese, but I can't eat dairyyy. :(
~Casey Richhhards
That's really cool and interesting!
I would go there if I got the opportunity but I don't think I would try the cheese, haha.
-Sarah Orr
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