BLEU DES CAUSSES AOC,the poor's man Roquefort cheese.

Bleu des Causses,a blue-veined cow's milk cheese similar to Roquefort cheese but milder and less expensive produced in a limestone country called Les Causses in the Rouergue near Millau.

                                   The Bleu des Causses is like Roquefort cheese a blue-veined cheese with a distinctive AOC status and produced in the same limestone country called Les Causses in the Aveyron department and also produced in limestone caves ventiled by natural chimneys called fleurines where drafts of cool and damp air carrying mold spores create the blue veining,BUT the main difference is that Bleu des Causses is made from cow's milk whereas Roquefort cheese is made from sheep's milk,and because the cow's milk is cheaper,Bleu des Causses ,less expensive is sometimes named the poor's man Roquefort!

                                   This blue-veined whole cow's milk cheese with a 45% minimum fat content is made in flat cylinders 20 cm wide and 10 cm tall weighing 2,3 to 3 kg.The ripening takes from 3 to 6 months with a 70-day minimum.It is creamy but crumblyand milder than Roquefort.When the cheeses are made in winter ,they have a white inside with a stronger taste ;in summer the paste is moister and ivory-yellow.