Creamy texture with a salty, full flavour.

Bleu des Causses is made in the heart of the stark limestone country known as Les Causses in the Rouergue, France. The area is riddled with limestone caves and it is in these caves that the cheeses are matured. Cool, damp air passes through the caves carrying the mould spores which encourage the development of the blue.

Roquefort cheese is made using ewes' milk and the cheeses are also matured in limestone caves (of the Cambalou). Inspired by Roquefort, Bleu des Causses was originally made with a mixture of ewes' and cows' milk, and because cows' milk is more plentiful and cheaper, the cheese became known as the poor man's Roquefort. The unpastuerised version we sell at The Teddington Cheese however, is a fabulous cheese in its own right.

Since gaining its A.O.C status in 1953 the cheese has been made purely from cows' milk. The regulations were modified in 1986 to extend the area of permitted production to five regions: l'Aveyron; le Lot; la Lozère; le Gard and l'Hérault.

Maturation lasts at least seventy days but the cheese can be matured for up to six months producing a full and lively flavour. It is similar to Blue d'Auvergne from further north, but Bleu des Causses is more assertive. The paste of the summer cheese is moist and ivory-yellow, becoming whiter and fuller-flavoured in the winter.

Each cheese is approximately 20cm in diameter, 12cm high, weighs 3kg and has a fat content of 45%. Bleu des Causses is excellent on the cheeseboard and goes well with a sweet white wine, especially at the end of a meal. It also makes fabulous sauces.