Nature left to its own devices might produce a blue cheese, but nothing as enchanting as Roquefort. The talent of the cheesemaker is in knowing how to guide nature so that the right blue mold penetrates the wheel at the right time, and to the right degree.
Initially, blue cheeses such as Roquefort and Fourme d'Ambert probably did occur spontaneously, when some shepherd left a young wheel in a damp cave. Ambient mold spores worked their way into the fissures in the cheese and proliferated in those airy channels. People discovered that they liked the piquant taste that the mold introduced and the way it made the interior more creamy.
Today's cheesemakers choose their Penicillium roqueforti strains carefully. Roquefort producers (there are only a handful) would never reveal what strains they use; that's a trade secret. In a process that may be unique in the cheese world, they inject their secret strains into big loaves of rye bread, where the spores soon take over. The moldy loaves are dried and ground to a powder to make the inoculant, or culture, for the year's cheesemaking.
France's great blue cheeses come in myriad shapes and styles—from the rindless, foil-wrapped Roquefort; to the handsome cylinder of Fourme d'Ambert with its natural rind; to the buttery and mellow Bleu d'Auvergne. The blue develops in these white wheels only when the cheesemaker pierces them with needles — by hand or mechanically — to create air tunnels. Provided with oxygen, the Penicillium spores in the wheel shake themselves awake and begin to reproduce.
French blue cheese served with honey and toasted hazelnuts is an understated yet fashionable finale. Add a bottle of Sauternes or Banyuls and you will have guests raving about a dessert that took you all of ten minutes. For salads, a blue cheese dressing becomes truly distinguished when made with Roquefort — the real stuff. And if you want to serve a burger that will make you look like a cooking-school graduate, melt some Fourme d'Ambert on top.
See It Made: Bleu Burger D'Ambert
Cook's Tip: You can crumble blue cheese into a salad, but for more drama, freeeze the cheese briefly first. Then grate it over your salad using a Microplane or the fine holes of a box grater. It will fall onto the greens like fine snowflakes.
