Going Underground!

Hello fellow traveler!

Years ago, I remember reading a story in Outside magazine about a team of modern day explorers who were mapping out a system of deep underground caves in South America. I recall feeling both fascinated and terrified as I read about the adversities that they had to overcome: darkness, dampness, creatures, and mold! I found this story inspiring and it made me realize that it was time to face my own fear of these underground worlds! Then an offer came to join a group of friends that were about to be led deep within a mountainside cave that had a small creek running through it. Here was my big chance!

As we entered the cave, the light from the entrance slipped away as we stepped cautiously into the darkness. Our eyes struggled to adjust to the dim light. The temperature began to drop and the humidity began to rise (along with my heartrate) as we explored deeper into the labyrinth of passageways in the cave. My mind began to race as I envisioned getting stuck in this environment… I mean, how would I survive?...How would I breathe??...I didn’t even pack any water or extra food!!.....But I quickly realized that I was out of danger once I turned a corner and was surrounded by 1000’s of wheels of Gruyere cheese!...Whew!

While I may have been having fun with the first part of this story, the reality is that aging cheese in caves at one point in history was really a necessity! As civilizations grew, the constant challenge of food preservation must have been overwhelming!  

It is said to one of the oldest blue cheeses, so let’s look at the Roquefort cheese story and legend. The creation of Roquefort cheese is said to have its beginnings a long time ago at the base of the Combalou Mountains, near the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, France where a young shepherd boy spotted a beautiful young girl. So entranced by the girl, he ran after her leaving behind his flock and forgetting his meal, which comprised of bread and ewe’s milk curds in a nearby cave. As he couldn’t find the beautiful girl after days of searching, the shepherd came back to his flock and the cave where he found his less than appealing meal. The ewe’s milk curd was now marbled with green veins and the bread had molded. Starving, he tasted the curd: the Penicillium Roqueforti mold had worked its magic transforming his cheese curd into what would become Roquefort cheese. 

INSIDE THE FAMOUS ROQUEFORT CAVES

While this story is charming, I like to look at the facts. It probably was true that the local villagers of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon did in fact store food products in these natural caves. The temperature remains constant at about 8 to 12° C (46.4 to 53.6° F) with a humidity of 98% and would have been much cooler than a cellar, therefore preserving food much longer.

Roquefort-sur-Soulzon was not the only place to age cheese in caves. The “Cheddar Gorge” in Southern England has its own set of caves and legends. This limestone gorge lies in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar, Somerset, England and is protected by The National Trust. The gorge is home to The Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company and their famous Cheddar show caves. These same caves showed human existence dating back thousands of years and contained Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, simply known as, Cheddar Man.

These early affineurs (one who ages, or finishes cheese) may have stored these in caves out of necessity, but today, modern affineurs understand how this aging process slowly ages the cheese while keeping it in this moist environment. 

Not to be outdone, Switzerland has taken cave aging for cheese to a whole new level! Gruyere cheese which dates back to 1115 A.D., seems to be magically transformed into a whole new cheese once it is placed in caves. The master affineurs at Mifroma are truly alchemists turning curd into gold. 

These caves owned by Mifroma are located in Ursy, Switzerland, and can hold a 100,000 wheels of Gruyere from 5 to 14 months. This process mellows the cheese and brings out earthy and caramel-y notes in the cheese and helps make this a perfect table cheese!

While these geological wonders around the world have helped preserve and transform cheese, the simple fact is that there are not enough around to age all of the cheese that our modern times desire…but with modern problems comes modern solutions.

Part refrigeration wizard, part scientist, and part artist, perfectly describes the folks at Mons, a French fromager and affineur. Starting in the 1960’s as a cheesemonger, Hubert Mons and his wife began selling cheeses around the region of Roanne, France. In the 1980’s their oldest son, Hervé joined in, along with their son, Laurent in the 90’s and have transformed the business to include an affinage program that has elevated cheeses from France to a whole new level! The brothers found an old railway tunnel and renovated it into an exceptional maturing cellar! In 2015 they helped the cheese team at Murray’s to design a set of maturing cellars at their location in Long Island City, New York. 

Murray’s now has four different cellars: Alpine, Washed Rind, Bloomy Rind, and Natural Rind. These are kept at a range of 48° to 57° F with a relative humidity of 88% to 98%. These conditions, along with constant care and attention is what was able to help the folks at Murray’s win the 2019 American Cheese Society’s Best in Show award with their Cavemaster Reserve Stockinghall Cheddar!

Caves – I guess it just goes to show that everything old is new again!

Until next week…

 Trevor