The blue veined cheeses

Within the pates persillees (blue veined cheese) cheeses and there is a subtle classificatio. Cheeses are called persilles when the pate is covered by blue natural mold that only becomes visible after a minimum maturing period off three months. Cheeses where the pate is delicately marbled with blue mold are described at marbr. Lastly cheeses where the pate is veined with blue mold are described as veines or veineu. This group of cheeses is known affectionately as the bleu. They are made from cows or ewes milk with the characteristic of having a blue/green mould in the interior of the pate. The pate is smooth, greasy and dense. Its coloring is ivory white with veins or clusters of blue mold due to Penicillium Roqueforti that has been introduced into the these cheese. The maturing process is longer than the other soft pate cheeses, and the taste is more pronounced. The bleus mature from the center of the cheeses leaving the rind white.

Before the maturing process takes place, in a humid cellar, the cheeses are salted for a period of five to six days. In the cellars the cheeses are transported by piercing the pains de fromage (a whole cheese) with a long needle of stainless steel. This allows air to pass and distributes the blue mold throughout the pat. The maturing period is often long (four to six months) and requires meticulous attention.

The great names of this category are: Roquefort, Blue de Gex, Blue des causses, Bleu d'Auvergne, Bleu de Bresse, Fourme d'Ambert.

The Ewe's mik cheeses

Ewe's milk cheeses is not considered as a family with respect to its production methods, but as a type of cheese. In fact the methods of producing a cheese from the ewe's milk are taken from the various methods used in the other families of cheese: soft cheeses, like the Perail; pressed cheeses, like the Ossau-lraty; fresh cheeses, like the Broccio, and bleu cheeses, like the Roquefort.

Nevertheless do to the pronounced difference in the ewes milk we can clearly group all ewes cheeses under one community. The ewes milk is extremely rich in oil and proteins, for example, it contains twice the oil content and 1.6 times the proteins cows mil. This particular makeup of the milk killed that she's a well-defined personality in that the cheeses are creamy and tend to melt in the mouth. Compared to cows ,ewe's produce much less milk, and average ewe on an average day is about a liter to one half liters of mil. One person, by hand, can milk about 30 ewes a da. The Roquefort, one of the magical ewe's milk cheeses is supplied by approximately 2600 farms situated in the rolling hills all round Roquefort-sur Soulzon in the south west of France. As the ewes natural feeding grounds are intimately related and limited to the mountain areas such as the Pyrenees,L'Aveyron and Corsica one finds less of a variety when compared to cows and goat's cheeses.

The celebrated names of these distinguished cheeses are Roquefort, the Ossau-lraty, the Perail and the Broccio.

The Suggested Wines to Serve with the Cheeses along with comments from the course .. Our comments are in ( )

Juracon, Domaine Cauhape "Symphonie de Novembre" 1998

This interesting white wine comes from the foothills of the Pyrenees on around the town of Pau, the grape variety is Manseng . legend has it that at the christening of Henry IV a drop was placed on his lips. The wine's color is a clear faded yellow, with a bouquet of apricots, mangoes and other exotic fruits. On the palate the taste is fresh, and one clearly detects the mangees and exotic fruits, ending in a slightly bitter flavor

( This was not only a new wine for us ... it came from an appellation that we have never heard of so it was a double treat to try. This lightly boytricised wine had a an interesting nose of almost medicimal apricots. Not objectionable but strange. On tasting we found the the sugar was a bit ahead of the acid and not in balance thus it was the sweeter of the two wines offered with the course. The finish had hints of pineapple in it and we felt that this was definitly a "food" wine and not one that simply stood on its own. However we also felt that it was not a cheese wine since it's sweetness was way too forward. Perhaps with poached pears it would be nice.)

Vouvray, Huet 1997

The Vouvray is made from Chenin grapes, harvested by hand.

This Vouvray has a bouquet of exotic fruits, mangoes and litchis, with notes of honey, spices and some green lemon and pineapple. On the palate, the sweet and elegant voluptuous beginning sensation takes place to a subtle balance of blending savors. The final touch is mineral. A wine that can be kept for a long time.

( This is Huet's "standard" wine and one that we had not tried. We found it lived up to the reputation that Huet has for extremely well crafted and balanced sweet wines. Unlike the previous wine, the sugar and acid were in complete balance with this wine. This yielded a perfect harmony of honey and citrus with no cloying sweetness.

Note: we served a 1947 Huet for Betsy's 50th birthday... you can read about it here )

The Cheeses: The cheeses are listed in the recommended order of tasting. Here we will include both the supplied notes on the cheeses and the associated wines along with our comments in ( ).

Broccio

The existence of this cheese on the Ile de Beauté (the beautiful island) is without doubt as old as the existence of ewes on the island. Like the people of Corsica it has a strong personality and is part of this magnificent island’s heritage. The cheese is produced throughout the island and since 1988 has been a member of the AOC family. Its profile and characteristics are practically identical to the Brousse provencale. The Broccio comes in the form of a ball of curd that has been flattened and presented in a returnable wicker basket, known as "les canestres", which varies in sizes. Broccio is usually eaten fresh, within forty eight hours, but if drained and salted it can be ripened like other cheeses. The ripening of this cheese represent about 15 % of the total production. It is an unusual cheese in that it is made from lactoserum, that is the whey that is recuperated after cheese making. One needs 11 liters of milk to obtain the lactoserum to produce a kilo of Broccio.

(This cheese is an excellent example of not eating the rind with the cheese. The pate had an almost barnyard flavor that had hints of hay behind its creamy taste. The rind had a sharp acid taste that detracted from of the cheese .)

Jurancon : In this association the wine,in the first instance, dominates the cheese. Slowly the savo of ewe's mil and the other country flavors of the cheese express themselves.

Vouvray: a surprising marriage. The wine gives the cheese space to develop its savours, such as a flavor of honey. The cheese is a toad that is transformed into a princess.

(While we're not sure about the "princess" ... this was a great example of how a desert wine that has acidity to balance the sweetnesss can fully compliment a cheese)

Perail    

Another great cheese from the Aveyron. This is a ewe's cheese with a strong, powerful taste. The land on the massif des Causses is rich in floral growth, and this is transmitted to the cheeses. Its rind is smooth, with a texture like thick cream. This cheeses requires a short maturing period

( we found this one to be nice, clean and simple but a bit uninteresing )

Jurancon: Remarkable concordance. At the very first taste there is an explosion of spicy savors that stimulates the palate, one detects a subtle peppery note, the aftertaste is quite extraordinary. A moment to remember

( we found that the wine brought out a slight bitterness in the cheese and did not like it )

Vouvray: Here the wine allows the cheese to develop it's rustic countrified qualities, giving one the pleasure of a truly rural tasting session.

( If you had the entire cheese with the wine .. rind and all .. it was a bit overwhelming to the wine. However when eating just the pate with the wine the balance was quite nice and they liked each other )

Ossau-Iraty    

Ossau-Iraty is probably the least known 'Appelation d'Origine Controlee' (A.O.C) cheese. This cheese unites two regions of France in the Western Pyrénées: Ossau in the valley of the Bearn, and Iraty in the beech forests of the Pays Basque. The cheese is full of a delicious, nutty, robust taste if it is produced during the period from June to September when the herds move up to the high mountain meadows.,

( our 2nd favorite cheese of the evening .... this was a perfect example of how the rind and the pate can compliment each other. The pate had a gentle nutty flavor while the rind overlaid it with the "barnyard" aromas and tastes and together the two made up for a wonderful experience )

Jurancon: Here we have a marraige where each partner stays in their corner proud of their particular identity. The wine is allowed to demonstrate all it's aromas of exotic fruit, whereas the cheese conserves its delicious savor of ewe's milk

( chuckle ... we think that besides staying in each other's corners, they should not even be introduced. Here the sweetness of the wine took away from the complexity of the cheese )

Vouvray: A marriage blessed by the gods. Truly a regal delight, between the fruity wine and the robust subtle flavors of the cheese, nothing is lost on the palate, it screams out for more. A pleasure carved in the memories of time.

( This was the 2nd best combo of the evening ..... it was a down right "rural" orgy of flavors that mixed perfectly )

Bleu de Gex    

The official name of this cheese is Blue du Haut Jura; it is also known by the name of Blue de Septmoncel. The area of production for the cheese are the departments of l’Ain and Jura; this is defined by the AOC, of which the cheese became a member in 1986 History tells us that when the Dauphiné region was claimed by France in 1349 certain peasants of this region left and found a new living in the valley of the Haut Jura. There they developed from cows milk a blue molded cheese. Previously the region been dominated by sheep and goat cheese. In this endeavor we are told that the Bishop of the abbey at Saint-Claude encouraged them. In the 16th Century the Blue de Gex was the cheese of choice for Charles Quint, the owner of the Franche-Comté. The Blue de Gex today is still produced in the small mountain dairies that employ the traditional methods that have been handed down from the 14th century.

( to us the texture of this cheese somewhat put us off ... it was almost rubbery in consistency and it did not yield up it's flavors easily. Kind of a "neutral" blue )

Jurancon: This is a good example of a badly conceived marraige. The first impression is of a bitter taste, not particularly pleasant and persistent. No point in continuing.

Vouvray: This is a give and take session between the wine and the cheese, each trying to dominate the other, in the contest, in the contest one's palate is stimulated with the different aromas

( .... neither wine went well with this ... in fact they were almost objectionable together )

Fourme d'Ambert    

Fourme d'Ambert is one of France's oldest cheeses (dating from the Roman period). Today production is with pasteurized milk. Like its cousin Fourme de Montbrison, it is a blue cheese. The maturing process takes place in aerated, humid cellars. The pâte is creamy, with a lasting taste of wine extremely pleasant. This is one of our Cheese Master specialties. The maturing period lasts 2 to 3 months. In the Tours region of France the local cheese mongers allow the cheeses to mature by adding a little mellow Vouvray wine.

( Our vote for the top cheese of the evening ........ buttery blue flavours abounded and it was fully balanced with a wonderfully clean, and non-dominating aftertaste )

Jurancon: There is an evident complicity between the cheese and the wine. At first the taste the richness of the wine subdues the bitter flavor of the cheese and the palate continues to enjoy the association

( here we agree ... the sweetness of the wine took away from the subtle complexity of the cheese)

Vouvray: An ideal concordance between the cheese and the wine. Extremely satisfying, a gourmet pleasure!

( this was our TOP MATCH of the evening ........ talk about "complimentary" , here the wine and the cheese interwove themselves together in a buttery, herbal, pineapple salted combination that simply made us go ahhhhhhhhhhhhh )

Roquefort      

Probably the world’s greatest blue cheese. It is produced entirely from the milk of the ewes that feed on the vast plateaux (Causses- a limestone plateau ringed with cliffs) found in the Aveyron. The ripening of the cheeses is in the natural damp, aired caves found under the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. It is the quality of the milk, the processing of the curd, the adding of “penicillium roqueforti” and finally the ripening in natural caves that give us this unique and remarkable cheese. The exterior aspect of a Roquefort should be white and faintly shiny. The “pâte” should be cohesive at the same time slightly crumbly. The texture is buttery with blue veins of mold extending to the edges. The smell has a subtle register of sheep’s milk. The taste is complex, but quite outstanding….. soft, creamy, slightly salty, with an after taste that leaves the palate craving for more. A good Roquefort should never be aggressive. Roquefort marries extremely well with nuts and figs.

( this was our 3rd favorite of the evening ....... while Art adores Roquefort, we found that this one was slightly more salty than normal and it unbalanced it just a bit. We'd ordered premeir Roqueforts from Fromages.com before and they were simply heavenly. This particular one, while head and shoulders about the ones one would find in the U.S. .. was not up to the quality that we had had before )

Jurancon: The cheese is tooo dominant, it completely suffocates the wine. Enjoy them separately

Vouvray: Interesting, the wine softens the strong tasting cheese and allows it to develop its creaminess.

( In a word ......... NO ........ don't even bother ....... the combos of the wines and this cheese were awful. We would have much preferred a nice port with it )

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