About The News : a publication of the Atlanta Gay Center. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1984-199? | View Entire Issue (April 25, 1986)
The News page 7 BITING BLUE by Michael Mungin Back in the 1950's when I was first introduced to Roquefort cheese it was a real taste tingling blast. A couple of friends that tried it with me-at Davison's Gourmet Shop- immediately turned up their noses, but not me. It started a romance that has ripened for 35 years. I don't understand it but I suppose there are people who must cultivate a taste for the very salty, unsightly blue molded, rather sheepy smelling, waxy textured, foreign cheese. Roquefort is only one of the many cheeses with the characteristic blue veins of the penicillium roqueforti or penicillium glaucun, which gives these cheeses their taste. Roquefort is from France as is Bleu du Haut Jura, Gex, Bresse Blue, Bleu des Causses, Blue Fermier and many others produced in such small quantity they are unknown outside-the area in which they are produced. Blue veined cheeses are found all over the world; Stilton and Blue Vinney in Great Britian, Blueford and Eremite in Canada, Cabrales in Spain, Edelpilzkase in Austria, Danish Blue and Mycella in Denmark, Bluefort in the Neatherlands, and Gorgonzola in Italy. These are but a few of the better known with the more distinctive flavors. You will note that there are no special ones well known in the United States^ though you may find some with all of the names mentioned above. These are poor copies of the original and should be strenuously avoided. However, do be on the lookout for some relatively unknown names that are excellent cheeses, particularly one made and marketed in South Carolina. All of the cheeses mentioned above take their general characteristic from the blue mold that has made Roquefort famous. Most of them are characterized by the term "blue" not "Roquefort". This is because, by general agreement between nations only that cheese made from ewe's milk in a carefully defined area of the Causses mountains surrounding the town of Roquefort may be identified as. Roquefort. There are a number of folk tales as to how Roquefort cheese started. I like the one where the young shepherd had left his sheep to graze and had settled down to have his lunch of cheese and bread in the mouth of one of the Causses limestone caves. Along came a wolf and scared his sheep so he left rapidly to care for them, leaving his round of cheese on a ledge in the cave. Some months later hikers were forced to take refuge in the cave from a storm. They found the cheese covered with a blue mold which they scraped away and then they tried the cheese. And so Roquefort was bom! Roquefort is known as the "King" of blues. It has been known and enjoyed for a long time. Pliny praised this cheese in the first century A.D. Officially, Roquefort enters into history in A.D. 1060, when the archives of the monastery of Conques records the gift of two cheeses supplied annually by each of the caves of the district. Casanova in 1757 wrote, "...Oh! what wonderful food and wine are Roquefort and Chambertin to restore love, and also to bring to maturity a growing love." In 1407, Charles VI of France, by letters patent, granted to the inhabitants of Roquefort the monopoly of the ripening of Roquefort as it was made "from time immemorial in the caves of the said village which is so poor that it can grow neither root or vine nor ears of barley!" To make Roquefort, and typically most blues are a variation of the same process, first the ewe's milk is heated and then. set. After a coagulation period of two hours the curd is cut, the free whey removed, and the • curd transferred to a cloth to drain. After this it is placed into •hoops some 7-1/2 inches in diameter and 6 inches deep with perforated holes in the sides. Scooping the curds into the molds is done in four stages, and between each scoop a dry blue mold powder is sprinkled which gives the cheese its veins. The ripening takes place in huge natural limestone caves where the air temperature is low and the humidity is high. What does anyone see in the salty, moldy, ripened milk concoction? In addition to being positively addictive in their undoctored form, the blues can, with total ease, be transformed into delectable flavorings and garnishes that point up the natural flavors of many other foods. But be warned, the blues are best consumed, in whatever transformation, at room temperature with a minimum of handling. Don't cook it, the oils ooze out with cooking and are revolting. My favorite of all dishes is a simple, very ripe pear, peeled and cored, and sprinkled with crumbled Roquefort. Heaven! Probably the best known of all dressings is the Roquefort or Blue Cheese dressing that daily graces our salad servings. These dressings fall into two general categories: the creamy, chunky blue, and the vinegarette blue. Both are outstanding, both are simple. Make them fresh just before you use them for the perfect flavor. THE CREAMY CHUNKY BLUE 1 Cup sour cream Va Cup mayonnaise 4 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed OR Vi Teaspoon garlic powder (not salt) 1 Dash Tabasco 1 Teaspoon salt* 1 Cup crumbled Blue Cheese Juice of Vi lemon In a small mixing bowl, with a fork, mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic, Tobasco, and lemon juice. Mix until smooth. If too thick thin with cream added by the teaspoon. Add cheese and mix. Taste for salt. If salt is needed add sparingly. Serve mounded on simple greens. •Depending on the type of blue cheese being used, the dressing may be salty enough with no added salt. BLUE CHEESE SALAD MOLD 2 Teaspoons unflavored gelatin 3 Tablespoons cold water Va Pound of Roquefort OR Vi Pound mild blue, crumbled 2 Cups large curd cottage cheese 1 Tablespoon Worchester Sauce. Dash Tabasco * Salt Vi Cup salad dressing x /i Cup heavy cream, whipped * See note with the creamy chunky blue Combine gelatin and cold water, let soften fo five minutes. Dissolve over hot water. Mb cheeses, add seasonings and melted gelatin Fold in mayonnaise and whipped cream. Pou into lightly oiled 6-inch ring mold and chill a least six hours. Unmold on lettuce and gami$t with tomatoes and olives. OIL-VINEGAR BLUE Vi Cup Oil (either all vegetable or one-half light olive oil and one-half vegetable oil) !4 Cup lemon juice 1 Tablespoon Sugar Vi Teaspoon salt Vt Teaspoon dry mustard Vi Teaspoon pepper Vi Teaspoon garlic powder (not salt) Vi Cup crumbled Blue Cheese 1 Teaspoon cold water Combine all ingredients in a screw-type >oi. Cover tightly and shake well. Store in refrigerator. Spoon over salad greens. 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