What is Roquefort cheese?

Roquefort cheese is a delicacy that has heretofore been manufactured only in parts of Europe where it was asserted the proper conditions for ripening existed. Also, to be labeled, Roquefort cheese must be made in France.

Roquefort is mentioned in literature as a far as 79 AD. In 1411 Charles VI of France gave sole rights to the ageing of Roquefort cheese to the village Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.

Roquefort is the original blue cheese. The designation ‘Roquefort’ is applicable only to cheese made from ewe’s milk in the Roquefort area of France.

And French law still dictates that only those chesses ripened in the natural caves of this village are allowed to use the name Roquefort.

A similar product made elsewhere in France is called bleu cheese.

The original Roquefort is produce from raw sheep milk, which after filtering is prepared with rennet. 

Penicillium roquefortii is primarily responsible for ripening the cheese. Proteolytic enzymes from the mild act to soften the curd and thus it produce the desired body in the cheese.

Roquefort is aged for three months in neat rows on oak benches in limestone caves in Combalou, in southwestern France.

The caves have a constant temperature, high humidity and optimal air circulation.
What is Roquefort cheese?