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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from worldwide

Blue-veined cheese family (Roquefort as template)Roquefort

Milk is set with rennet and Penicillium roqueforti spores, and the curd is drained without pressing so it stays open. The cheese is salted dry and pierced with needles, and air in the channels lets the blue mould grow through the paste in cool, humid caves or cellars. Made in 6 steps over 2.3 months – 2.5 months. The longest step, wrap and mature slowly, takes at least 50 days (INAO 2025) and runs at at least -5 °C (INAO 2025). Salt is 2–4 % (Ramet J.P. 2001). Lactococcus lactis and Penicillium roqueforti do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 50 daysSet[roquefort-cdc][gorgonzola-onaf][cfr133-106]Wrap and mature slowly
Temperatureat least -5 °CSet[roquefort-cdc]Wrap and mature slowly
Salt2–4 %Reported[fao-ramet2001]Salt dry
AciditypH 6.6Measured[bittante2022]Wrap and mature slowly
Fully documentedCheese2.3 months – 2.5 months

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedFamily template, so the ingredients are the ones blue cheeses share. No specification read gives amounts.
Milk · Roquefort PDO: raw, whole ewe milk; Stilton PDO: pasteurised cow milk[roquefort-cdc][stilton-spec]
Lactic starter · Lactococcus lactis in Cabrales and many others[rodriguez2025][gorgonzola-onaf]
Penicillium roqueforti spores · Roquefort PDO: from strains isolated in the Roquefort caves; added to the milk or the curd[roquefort-cdc][stilton-spec]
Rennet[roquefort-cdc][stilton-spec]
Dry salt[roquefort-cdc][fao-ramet2001]
Starter: mesophilic lactic starter plus Penicillium roqueforti spores

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.3 months – 2.5 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
28–36 °CpH 6.4–6.8shapes, not to countMoulds

What changes: Rennet and blue mould spores go into the milk and it sets

Step 1 of 6
Set the milk with rennet and blue mould spores
Time
at least 40 min
Reported
Temperature
28–36 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 6.4–6.8
Reported
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Penicillium roqueforti

Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
gel
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

the starter sours the milk; mould spores go into the milk or later onto the curd

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

The curd is never pressed, so it stays open, and the cheese is pierced so air reaches the inside. That lets Penicillium roqueforti grow through the paste rather than only on the rind, as bloomy-rind moulds do.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Stilton PDOPasteurised cow milk from Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire; no applied pressure; Blue Stilton 6–12 weeks.
  • Gorgonzola PDO dolce and piccantePasteurised cow milk; dolce more than 50 days, piccante 60–80 days or more.
  • Cabrales PDOAsturias; raw cow or mixed milk; ripened in limestone caves.
  • Bleu d'Auvergne, Fourme d'Ambert, Bleu de GexRegional French cow-milk blues; Bleu de Gex is lightly pressed.
  • Danablu and CambozolaDanish blue; Cambozola adds a white mould rind.

Made the blue-veined cheese family way

Safety

Roquefort is made from raw ewe milk; Stilton must be made from pasteurised milk. The UK NHS advises pregnant women to eat soft blue-veined cheeses such as gorgonzola and roquefort only when cooked until steaming hot, pasteurised or not, because of Listeria. US blue cheese must be at least 60 days old (21 CFR 133.106).

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, the reason soft blue cheeses carry pregnancy advice.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Roquefort's 1411 charter from Charles VI and its 1925 appellation are commonly cited.

  1. [roquefort-cdc] INAO, Cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine Roquefort, national-opposition draft of 19 November 2025spec
  2. [stilton-spec] Defra (UK), Stilton Cheese PDO product specificationspec
  3. [gorgonzola-onaf] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), Gorgonzola DOP technical sheet, restating the PDO specificationother
  4. [fao-ramet2001] Ramet J.P. 2001, The technology of making cheese from camel milk (Camelus dromedarius), FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 113, chapter on blue and semi-hard cheese methodsbook
  5. [cfr133-106] US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 133.106, Blue cheesegov
  6. [rodriguez2025] Rodríguez J., Suárez P.R., Das S., Vázquez L., Lama S., Flórez A.B., Tamang J.P., Mayo B. 2025, Microbial and biochemical analyses of high-quality, long-ripened, blue-veined Cabrales cheese, Foods 14:2366paper
  7. [bittante2022] Bittante G., Amalfitano N., Cipolat-Gotet C. et al. 2022, Major causes of variation of external appearance, chemical composition, texture, and color traits of 37 categories of cheeses, Foods 11:4041paper
  8. [nhs-preg] NHS (UK), Foods to avoid in pregnancy (cheese section)gov