FORMAGGIO.IT

Il Portale del Formaggio

Roquefort

Name of Group of Producers

Cheese with a veined paste made from raw whole ewe's milk, cylindrical in form, around 10 cm thick, its weight varying between 2-5 and 2-9 kilogrammes.

Geographical area : Originally a vast area to the south of the Massif Central, possessing, as the law of 26 July 1925 specified, "the same characteristics in terms of ovine breeds, vegetation and climate" and characterized by an arid, wild landscape where several flocks of sheep graze. Thanks to the efforts of the Roquefort producers to encourage sheep-breeding and develop milk

production, the milk used in the manufacture of Roquefort today mostly comes from the so-called "regional zone", which comprises most of Aveyron and part of the adjacent départements of Lozère, Gard, Hérault and Tam.

Cheesemaking in Roquefort has a very long history. Cheese colanders have been found among the region's prehistoric relics. From the 8th century there are references to Roquefort cheese in numerous deeds, settlements, endowments, etc. concerning the province of Rouergue. In the 15th century, Charles VI recognized the vital need, expressed in a letter patent and confirmed by his successors, to protect the designation "Roquefort". On 31 August 1696 a decree promulgated by the Languedoc Parliament in Toulouse granted the inhabitants of Roquefort sur Soulzon the exclusive right to mature the cheese. It is the only cheese with a legally recognized Appellation d'Origine dating back to 1925 (law of 26 July 1925).

In the manufacture ' of Roquefort unchanging methods are respected. The Pénicillium roqueforti is introduced either in liquid form when the rennet is added or by sprinkling the curds when they are put into the moulds. After draining and salting, the cheeses are transported to the caves of Roquefort sur Soulzon, in fallen rock from the Combalou mountain, where it is specified that the ripening process must take place.