Monday 27th January we left Imperia to head for our camp ground near Montpellier for two nights. This was simply to break up our trip down to Barcelona, otherwise the drive would have been about 800km towing the caravan mostly at between 80-100km!!
As it turns out within 2 hours drive of where we were staying are the Roquefort Caves AND the Millau Viaduct. Thanks must go to Warwick Shaw from Town and Country Glass who highly recommended a visit to these caves when he replaced some window glass at our house back in NZ! This truly was worth the trip!
We were advised on arrival that the one hour tour would be in French and we were given a sheet printed in English with all the information. As we were the only ones mad enough to be touring around in winter, we were lucky enough to be the only ones there so had the guide to ourselves. Because of this, she did very well and spoke in English as much as she could.
The caves at Roquefort are natural. A rockfall from the Combalou plateau which overhangs the Roquefort village, left the part of this mountain in a chaotic heap of rocks riddled with natural faluts and caves, and it was these caves thar we ingeniously adapted for the purpose of cheese-making.
The rock mass that constitutes Roquefort's protected designation of origin region, is 2km long, 300m wide and 300m deep. Ingeniously harnessed by man, the caves are ow cheese cellars where temperature is 10 degrees C with a relative humidity of 90%, and an air renewal rate of about 1,200,000m3 per day! This constant renewal of air is possible thanks to the many faults, known as fleurines, which run through the rock mass. The fleurines are small tunnels that runs from the cellar to the side of the mountain. They can be as long as 1km! These fleurines have been fitted with windows and doors to allow the master-ripeners to open or close them when required, to get the correct temperature etc.
Microorganisms such as Penicillium roqueforti have adapted perfectly to life in this unique, natural environment.
The cellar which the above picture is part of, is 11 storeys high and there are fleurines on every storey. This cellar can hold up to 300,000 loaves of cheese at a time, and 1,400,000 loaves in an entire season (only six months of the year, the rest of the year the sheep - Lacaune breed - are lambing). In total, 7,000m2 are used to ripen cheese in this cellar!
Societe des Caves has created a unique legacy of cellars. This is because they are the only producers in the area to have such a variety of cellars. Each cellar is distinct in terms of size and shape, type of rock, ventilation, and with the help of the microorganism Penicillium roqueforti, each cellar produces its own line, highly characteristic Roquefort cheese.
Penicillium Roqueforti is a microscopic fungus that forms a series of miniature pencil-like structures when it grows. These spores are added to the ewe's milk at the dairy factory. This ensures a more even distribution of the sports than if added to the curd, either manually or by machine, when being fitted into the moulds. A single gram of powder contains between 20 and 30 thousand million spores!! 4 grams is enough to inoculate 5000 litres of milk, or 400 cheeses!
Three strains of the fungus are grown on sourdough bread made with a mixture of rye and wheat flour. By isolating and selecting the strains of Penicillium roqueforti that produced the best cheese, Societe's researchers have created a 'bank of strains'. The three strains are grown on bread under sterile conditions where they are protected from contamination. Once the bread has moulded away completely, the penicillium is collected and divided into doses.
Before the cheeses are placed in the cellar to ripen, each cheese is placed under a board fitted with long needles measuring just 3mm in diameter. These needles create small cavities throughout the cheese, allowing the aeration of the cheese (circulation of oxygen and expulsion of carbonic gas). The cheeses are then placed vertically along wooden shelves. Through the joint action of Penicillium ronqueforti and the salt of their surface, the cheeses are left to ripen. Depending on the strain of penicillium used and the cheese that you wish to obtain, the ripening stage can last anywhere between 14 and 25 days.
Salt plays an important role in the process, as in addition to its preservative qualities, it provides the cheese with the required moisture. As the penicillium grows, a series of green-blue veins spread throughout the inside of the cheese, gradually making it soft.
After the ripening phase comes the maturing phase, when the cheese is left to rest. The flavour of the Roquefort develops during this phase.
This is the museum/shop/tasting room at the end of the tour.
This is a fleurine.
In the caves.
Inside one of Les Fleurines.
Normally this cave has 23,000 cheeses in it, however only half this on our visit.
These are the details for another cave that was empty at the time of our visit, but 35,000 cheeses, wow!
Tasting time! Yum!
Time to shop!
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