Cheese of the Month

As a few people have indicated that they would like little of my cheese knowledge shared on this blog I have decided I will start doing a ‘Cheese of the Month’ posting each month.. While I was tempted to start local with one of the fantastic New Zealand cheeses, particularly as a certain cheese producer is about to put me up for a night in their luxury lodge as a thank you for flogging their milk fats, how easily one is bought. But no, this month since it has just been made legal in this country it had to be the ‘King of Cheeses’ from France, ladies and gentleman… Roquefort.

Until recently it has been illegal in New Zealand to import any un-pasteurised cheese that has been aged less than 60 days. That has effectively excluded some of the worlds greatest cheeses from the New Zealand market. In my privileged position I have gained access to Roquefort over the years as it hasn’t been illegal to import it for personal consumption. One of my cheese importers kindly supplied me and some of my co-workers with quarters each Christmas.

When milk is pasteurised it is heated to 72c for 15 to 20 seconds. Pasteurisation reduces the number of viable pathogens in the milk; unfortunately it also strips a lot of the more subtle flavours out of the milk and removes many of the natural enzymes in the milk which help mammals digest dairy products.

Roquefort is a sheeps milk blue cheese which is aged in the caves of Cambalou where it picks up the natural cultures of the cave. Only cheeses which are aged in these caves can use the name Roquefort. Many blue cheeses will have the word roqueforti listed in the ingredients as just like brewers yeasts have been isolated and cultured for use in breweries far from the yeasts origins, the moulds that give Roquefort its amazing sharp tangy blue flavour are used in many blues across the world.

Roquefort is marketed as the ‘King of Cheeses’ but if American Bud is anything to go by, being the king isn’t that great. Another description often heard, that I feel is more apt, is that it’s the whiskey of the cheese world. Roquefort is incredibly complex; while the sheep’s milk provides a tangy nutty sweet character the aggressive blue character fills the palate with intense almost perfumy flavours.

I once gathered a group of friends together pulled a 2003 bottle of Chimay Grande Reserve from the cellar and dished out the Roquefort. The dried fruit notes, hints of port and sweet malty weight of the Chimay matched the enveloping strength of the Roquefort perfectly. At the time the cheese was still illegal and the experience was all the sweeter for it.