Bleu de Bresse () is a blue cheese that was first made in the

Bresse Bresse () is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term ''Bresse'' has two meanings: ''Bresse bourguignonne'' (or ''louhannaise''), w ...

area of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Made from

whole milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulating ...

, it has a firm, edible coating which is characteristically white in color and has an aroma of mushrooms. Its creamy interior, similar in texture to

Brie Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern ''département'' of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mo ...

, contains patches of

blue mold ''Peronospora hyoscyami'' f.sp. ''tabacina'' is a plant pathogen infecting tobacco that causes blue mold. It is an oomycete (a fungus-like organism) that is highly destructive toward seed plants. It is very prevalent in humid farming zones, ...

. It is shaped into cylindrical rounds weighing from .

Production

The curds, inoculated with ''

Penicillium roqueforti ''Penicillium roqueforti'' is a common saprotrophic fungus in the genus '' Penicillium''. Widespread in nature, it can be isolated from soil, decaying organic matter, and plants. The major industrial use of this fungus is the production of blue ...

'', are placed into a perforated mold. After it has formed the desired shape and removed from the mold, the cheese is salted, turned, drained, and covered with pulverized '' Penicillium camemberti'' to form the outer coating.

History

Bleu de Bresse originated in 1951 by an

agricultural cooperative An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural service cooperati ...

near

Servoz Servoz () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Servoz has a railway station on the Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway and the section between Les Houches and Servoz holds the ...

in response to the growing popularity of Italian cheeses. The small packaged rounds were an innovation for the retail market at the time.

Production

History

See also