There are 350 basic varieties of cheese.France produces over 300 of them. France Is also a nation devoted to romance. Jut look at some national symbols: Ours is Uncle Sam, a rugged, dependable man who radiates power and authority. John Bull is the British symbol, a dignified, barrel-chested male. For France, it is La Belle France, a beautiful coquette who conquers with her charm.
It is fitting that one of her most famous cheeses, Roquefort, has a romantic legend as its source. There are other stories about Roquefort but no one knows when it was invented. Pliny, the Elder, wrote about a sharp, piquant cheese Roman Legions found when Caesar conquered Gaul in 51 BC It could have been Roquefort. One of the legends states that a sorceress named Jehanne Muret invented the cheese in 9 BC, long after the Romans arrived.
The witch lived in a cave near the village of Roquefort. Her cave was also a stable for her sheep, and ewe's milk and bread were her standard dinner. The villagers feared and respected her. She could tell the sex of an unborn child by looking at the mother's face. She also made love charms, guaranteed to win a maiden the husband of her choice.
Jehanne discovered the cheese when she left some milk out for several days, so that it separated into curds (the solids) and the liquid, whey. She mixed some stale bread with the curds to eat later. The mold on the bread reacted with the milk and a sharp, blue-veined cheese was born.
There is a romantic legend about the discovery of the cheese. A young shepherd grazed his flock in the mountains above the village. For lunch, he carried a bread and sour sheep curd sandwich. One day, he had just laid his food on a rock when he saw a beautiful girl walking on a path below him. Being a Frenchman, romance overcame hunger. The sandwich was forgotten. Weeks later, he was again grazing his flock at the spot and found his old sandwich. It was much harder and covered with blue veins. It tasted wonderful so he began to leave sandwiches out to be eaten whey they became cheese.
Which legend is true? Maybe neither one but we do know that Roquefort cheese was around by the time of Charlemagne, who ruled France in the Eighth Century. He loved Roquefort and demanded that it be served on his table three times per day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
In 1666, the French Government gave the town of Roquefort exclusive rights to call their sheep's milk cheese by that name. It had become so popular that other areas were trying to produce the same cheese. It is fermented cheese, like the English Stilton or the Italian Gorgonzola.
In 1925, the French Government went a step further to guard the integrity of one of their major exports. Only sheep's milk can be used to make the curds, and the cheese must be ripened in the caves above Roquefort if it is to bear the cherished Roquefort label. World demand is so high that almost a million ewes are needed to supply the milk.
Blue cheese or "Danish Blue" is an ersatz Roquefort made from cow's milk, but for real Roquefort flavor one must have ewe's milk that has been ripened in Jehanne Muret's caves.
Roquefort salad dressing is popular in the United States. It is easy to make and is a tasty companion for vegetables.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup light cream
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup Roquefort cheese
PREPARATION: Combine mayonnaise, cream, and lemon juice. Crumble cheese into mixture; mix well. Chill before serving.
By Jeff Cheek
