Bleu de Gex

Bleu de Gex, also called Bleu de Haut-Jura or Bleu de Septmoncel, is a blue cheese of the Haut-Jura in Franche-Comte. Its traditions are traced to the Saint-Claude region and, by long tradition, to the medieval monks of the Saint-Claude abbey. It received its Appellation d'Origine Controlee in 1977; the designation restricts production to the Haut-Jura zone and requires raw cow's milk.

A wedge of Bleu de Gex is pale ivory with delicate blue-green veins threading through, fewer and softer than the dense marbling of Roquefort. The paste is creamy and yielding; the flavor is gentle — a quiet, mushroomy earthiness with a mild peppery warmth, far less sharp than southern blues. The thin natural rind is sometimes slightly moist. A regional specialty often served with boiled potatoes.

Bleu de Gex is a blue cheese made by introducing the mold Penicillium roqueforti into raw cow's milk. After the curd is cut, it is NOT pressed, so the wheel retains open channels; the cheese is then pierced with needles — the piquage — to open air pathways. Oxygen entering through these channels allows the blue mold to grow internally, producing the characteristic veining. P. roqueforti secretes proteases and lipases that break down proteins and fats; this enzymatic activity is what softens the paste and produces the peppery, earthy flavor. The short affinage of roughly three weeks keeps the flavor mild and the texture creamy.