ROQUEFORT: Roi des Fromages
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Most of us are familiar with De Gaulle’s
plaintive remark that it was a fairly thankless task attempting to preside over
a country in which there are more than 300 varieties of cheese. But the good
General certainly had no complaints himself when it came to the consumption of
Roquefort, long since dubbed le roi des fromages, a worthy title with
which no self-respecting Frenchman would ever seek to disagree. Undisputedly
the most famous cheese in the world, Roquefort also happens to be the number
one AOC (designation of origin) in the whole of France - a not insignificant
achievement when you pause to reflect that the rather smelly and moldy
substance made from matured ewes’ milk is more readily identifiable than those
two other bastions of French gastronomy, wine and champagne.
To understand the secret of Roquefort you
have to go way back in time. To the middle Jurassic period over 170 million
years ago, in fact, when the Combalou plateau collapsed forming a split two
kilometers long and three hundred meters wide, creating spectacular caves in
the heart of the mountain with enough space between the rocks to provide
ventilation. But what on earth has a picturesque natural geological site in the
remote department of the Aveyron got to do with cheese, and blue cheese at
that? Over to local legend for the answer. Well, once upon a time, a long,
long time ago… a shepherd on the Causse saw a beautiful girl far off in the
dusk. He decided to follow her, leaving his dog to look after his flock and
leaving his meal - bread and ewe’s milk curd - in a small, cool cave. He
followed the girl for days and days but never caught up with her. He shouted
and called out but she didn’t hear. He finally gave up, broken-hearted. When he
returned to his sheep a surprise was waiting for him. The beautiful shepherdess
was standing near the cave. She handed him his bread and the curd, which was
now a fine green-veined colour. He tasted it with some misgiving - only to
discover that it was delicious. The Roquefort miracle had taken place. Air and
time had turned the curd into an exquisite cheese! The shepherd and the
shepherdess decided to stay together forever and to share their secret, the
secret of Roquefort. Needless to say, they lived happily ever after. And
give or take the occasional German occupation so too have the people of
Roquefort and its environs, turnover in the cheese now amounting to a
multi-million pound business.
Roquefort might well be the king of cheeses,
but it also happened to be the cheese of kings. Charles VI established the
first real protection in the 1411 Charter, awarding privileges to the
inhabitants of the village of Roquefort to ensure its continuation ‘in a
country in which grows neither a vine plant or a grain of wheat’. Half a
millennium on not a lot has changed. For today Erick Boutry, head of Societe,
the company responsible for producing over 70% of today’s Roquefort , feels the
weight of responsibility which goes with his job.
"Here we work not just for our
shareholders", he affirms, "but for the whole region. Without
Roquefort there is simply nothing else here - its a desert. We have 1200 people
on our payroll - but we are also responsible for ensuring the livelihood of
more than 5000 families - breeders, milk-suppliers and so on. I dare say we
could automate our wrapping process, for example, because each loaf of
Roquefort is still wrapped individually by hand in sheets of tin foil. But that
would mean the loss of over one hundred jobs here - which would be tantamount
to sentencing those employees to a life time on the dole, something I am not
prepared to do."
Four fifths of all Roquefort produced (there
are 7 officially recognized manufacturers in the village) is consumed in
France. But despite being amongst the most expensive cheeses on the market, its
pungent, tangy taste appeals to all ages and all classes alike. Which means
that with Roquefort deeply ingrained in the French way of life it is difficult
for the likes of Eric Boutry to increase an already stable market share. Which
in turn means that his company has been looking to markets overseas in order to
further boost sales.
Although Boutry’s company can trace its roots
back to the middle of the 19th century, and is anxious to portray a
homespun artisan style industry, Societe has passed through many hands,
including those of Perrier, Nestle and the Credit Agricole. Nestle sold the
company off back in 1992, after a period of ownership lasting barely twenty
days, the Swiss food giant anxious to dispose of its new asset in the face of
fierce local hostility to what was perceived as outside interference. Enter
Monsieur Besnier, owner of the largest dairy producing firm in France (his
other brands include President Brie and Bridel Camembert) who has always been
more of a fromagier than financier at heart, and who decided that
it was his role in life to ‘save’ Roquefort from falling into foreign hands. He
did so, but at a price many analysts considered to be considerably above the
company’s market value.
Look at the ewes which graze on the rolling
hills of the Causses and it all seems rather remote from the angst world of
take-over bids and high finance. The sheep are milked for eight months of the
year, their produce collected daily from five dairies. The milk is then heated
to about 32 degrees and poured into tanks with a capacity of several hundred
liters. When the tanks are full, the cheese-maker inoculates the milk with
Penicillium roqueforti spores and adds rennet to turn the milk into cheese. The
curd is then cut up and prepared and put into molds, after which it is drained
for 2 days and salted for five. Maturation can only be carried out in the
cellars at Roquefort, a process which comprises all the changes in the cheese
from the end of salting to the moment at which it is ready for consumption. Temperature,
humidity, ventilation and the care lavished on it through its stay in the
cellars by the Maitre-Affineur - all of these factors play a role in its
eventual taste.
Roquefort has appeared on all the best
gourmet tables, and is used in a long list of dishes with magical names such as
Boulettes de beurre de Roquefort a la creme; Tarte aux nois et au Roquefort;
Craquants de champignons a la creme de Roquefort; Charlotte au roquefort et a
la nougatine de noisettes - to name but a few. Monsieur Boutry remains
particularly keen on his wife’s poulet au Roquefort. (see recipe,
below.)
Of course one man’s meat is another man’s
poison, as the saying goes, which makes it difficult to analyze Roquefort’s
enduring appeal. Perhaps it was Casanova though, that Venetian libertine famous
for his romantic exploits and seductions, who hit the nail on the head back in
the 18th century. Writing in his memoirs his noted that Roquefort
was "an excellent meal for restoring love and for bringing budding love
rapidly to maturity".
"I think I love Roquefort now more than
ever before", the mustachioed Maurice Astruc reveals, before going on to
endorse Casanova’s assessment of the aphrodisiac qualities of the cheese.
Having begun his working life deep in the ancient cellars of Societe over 40
years ago, he has worked his way up through the ranks to the exalted status of
Maitre-Affineur, his sparkling character and regional accent making him a
natural choice for the company’s enduring advertising campaign.
"The secret of a good Roquefort" he
explains, "is to used good milk, to make good products at the fromagerie,
and then to allow it to mature in a good cave. Then all you have to do is to
sit back and wait. Take your time. Allow nature to do its work - that’s the
magic of Roquefort."
________________________________________________________________
·
Anyone interested in
visiting the Roquefort caves should contact Societe des Caves et des
Producteurs de Roquefort, 12250, Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, France. Tel: +33 465 58
58 58. Fax: +33 465 59 96 97.
·
Recipe: Chicken with Roquefort for 6 people. Ingredients: 1
medium chicken. 60g Roquefort, 8 chicory hearts, 100ml white wine, 50g butter,
200 ml creme fraiche, shallot. Preparation time: 1h 15m, including 1h cooking
time.
·
Instructions: cut the
chicken into pieces and fry it in oil and butter for half an hour. Add the
chopped shallot and white wine. Cook for another 30 mins and remove the chicken
wings before the end of cooking. Keep warm. Meanwhile, reduce the creme fraiche
and the Roquefort. Cut the chicory into think slices and heat gently in the
melted butter. Drain then add the chicory to the creme fraiche/Roquefort
mixture to make the sauce. Pour the Roquefort sauce over the chicken pieces and
serve.
The main Web site of freelance writer Jeremy
Josephs is at www.jeremyjosephs.com Please check there if you might be interested in
engaging him as a writer. Many of his articles are available online.
Please check the sitemap for
a complete list.