Bleu de Koss

Bleu de Koss is one of the oldest blue cheeses in the world, made in the south of France, on the Coss Plateau. Blue cheeses from this region are also mentioned in “ Notes on the Gallic War ” by Gaius Julius Caesar , however, it is not indicated which milk this cheese was made from, so it is impossible to say exactly what kind of cheese it is. The first mention of Bleu de Cos is found in the “ Natural History ” of Pliny the Elder ^[1] .

When Charlemagne returned from the war from Spain, this cheese was served to him by the bishop of Albia, after which blue cheeses became popular at the French court. Until 1925, the Bleu de Koss and Roquefort cheeses were aged in the same natural grottoes, however, in 1925, the producers of Roquefort managed to obtain the right to use these caves only for aging Roquefort ^[1] .

In 1979, Bleu de Koss received the AOC certificate, and in 2009 - the label “Name Protected by Place of Origin” (AOP) ^{[2] [1] [3]} .

Cheese is made in the south of France, in the Coss region. For preparation, milk of cows of Montbeliard and Obrack breeds is used. The production of 1 kilogram of cheese consumes 7-8 liters of milk, and the process of flowing around the cheese mass without pressing lasts from two to four days. Before cooking, milk is heated to a temperature of 30–33 ° C, after which rennet and spores of penicillin mold are added to it. After curdling and removing the whey, the cheese mass is salted and molded, and the finished form in all directions is pierced with long thick needles, which allows you to slightly loosen the cheese discs and provide air for the development of mold. After that, the cheese is transferred to aging ^{[1] [4]} .

Bleu de Koss is aged in the natural limestone caves of the Gran Coss plateau, which provides a natural air circulation system. The full cycle of cheese production is at least 70 days, but usually ripening lasts from three to six months. During ripening, cheese heads are regularly turned over and rubbed with salt ^{[1] [5]}

The cheese heads have the shape of a flat cylinder with a diameter of about 20 centimeters, a height of 8-10 centimeters and a weight of 2.3-3 kilograms. The heads are traditionally wrapped in aluminum foil to prevent mold from developing on the surface of the cheese. The cheese is covered with a natural, moist crust of light orange-beige color with a surface mold. The appearance, taste and aroma of the pulp varies depending on the time of year when the cheese was aged. In summer cheeses, ivory flesh or fawn, in winter - white. The pulp contains veins of gray-blue mold ^{[3] [4]} .

The taste of Bleu de Cossus is spicy salty, almost peppery. The consistency is less buttery than most other blue cow milk cheeses. The aroma contains notes of mushrooms and a damp cellar ^[4] .

It is used both as an independent dish and in salads. It is combined with red wines of southern France, especially with sweet wines ^{[3] [4] [6]} .

• Masui K. , Yamada T. French cheeses: an illustrated encyclical. = [French Cheeses] / Kazuko Masui, Tomoko Yamada; entry next J. Robuchon ; per. from English: S. Sapronov ; photo by J. Maruyama . - SPb. : Publ. Neva House , 2003. - 240 p. - (A Dorling Kindersley Book). - ISBN 5-7654-2333-7 .
• Juliet Harbutt. The best cheeses in the world. - M .: Publishing house "BBPG", 2012. - 352 p. - ISBN 978-5-93679-168-0 .