July 19, 2026 • 9 mins
Cheesy and Fondue are talking all about romance and blue cheese. We learn what makes cheese blue. We discuss legends of a shepherd in France, a cheese maker in Italy and a Native American in South Carolina. And of course, we tell a very cheesy joke!
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Why is cheddar the most dangerous of all the cheeses? Because it is very sharp! Want more entertainment like this? Check us out at www.justcheesy.com and everywhere you enjoy social media.
Why is cheddar the most dangerous of all the cheeses? Because it is very sharp!
Show Notes
Taste France Magazine / Roquefort PDO
Société Roquefort / Legend and Cheese
Markys / The Caves of Roquefort
Travel France Online / Roquefort Blue Cheese
Academy of Cheese / Gorgonzola PDO
Formaggio Kitchen / The Origins of Gorgonzola
Cheese Scientist / The History of Gorgonzola
Clemson University / History of Clemson Blue Cheese
Markys / The Enchanting World of Blue Cheese
Cheese Scientist / Why Is Blue Cheese Blue
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Just Cheesy, the podcastpresented by Just Cheesy Productions.
Hi, there. I'm your host, Fondue.
I'm Cheesy.
In this week's episode, we'retalking all about romance and blue
cheese. We're gonna learn whatmakes cheese blue. We're discussing
legends of a shepherd inFrance, a cheesemaker in Italy, and
(00:24):
a native American in SouthCarolina. And, of course, we're gonna
tell our very cheesy joke.Stay tuned. Blue on Just Cheesy the
podcast. I don't know aboutyou, cheesy, but nothing says romantic
wedding season like a littlebit of science. Both the Academy
of Cheese and Markey's Cavecheese site talk a little bit about
(00:46):
the blue veins in blue cheese.Those blue veins in blue cheese are
colonies of a living fungus.In most cases, it's called Penicillium
rociforti.
Ew.
If it sounds familiar, it'sthe bacteria that's found in Roquefort.
It's found in Gorgonzola. It'sfound in Stilton.
It is.
It's found in the Frenchcheese Forme d'. Amber.
(01:08):
What?
Sorry.
Yeah.
And the Spanish Cabralescheese uses a combination of Penicillium
roqueforti, Penicilliumcamemberti, and Penicillium glaucum,
I think.
Is that what it's called?
From what they say here, themold is not harmful.
Really.
It's actually the same genusas the mold that produces penicillin,
although this one does notactually produce the antibiotic.
(01:30):
According to Marquis, the moldcraves oxygen.
It does.
This is why cheese makersactually pierce blue cheese wheels
with long needles duringaging. This creates channels for
air to penetrate the interior.
Whoa.
The oxygen allows penicilliumto grow through the paste, and it
produces the blue greenveining. Without that piercing, the
mold would only grow on thesurface. According to the Academy
(01:52):
of Cheese. Historically,cheesemakers cultivated Penicillium
roqueforti by leaving ryebread loaves in the caves for weeks,
really, until they wereactually consumed by the mold. The
interior interior of the breadwould be dried and then ground into
a fine powder and thensprinkled over the fresh cheese curds.
According to the cheesescientists and the Academy of Cheese,
(02:13):
the flavor compounds producedby Penicillium roqueforti are responsible
for the sharp, peppery, andtangy character of blue cheese. The
mold breaks down the fatsthrough a process called lipolysis.
Okay.
And releasing fatty acids thatgive blue cheese its bite. And much
like all the cheeses, thelonger the aging, the more pronounced
the Flavor, of course. So wenow know. Know what the blue veins
(02:36):
are.
Yeah.
Let's talk about how the veryfirst famous blue cheese came to
exist. Yeah, we're talkingstuff of legends, really. According
to the Academy of Cheese,Taste France magazine and multiple
historical sources, the legendof Roquefort begins with a young
shepherd. He was tending hisflock near the cliffs of Mount Kalu
(02:57):
in southern France. He satdown for a simple lunch of rye bread
and sheep's milk curds. Andthen he spotted a beautiful young
woman in the distance. Ofcourse, he gave up his lunch in a
cool, damp cave and went afterthe woman.
Of course.
According to the SocieteRoquefort official site, when he
returned after several days ofunsuccessful searching, he found
his used milk curds marbledwith blue veins and his bread consumed
(03:20):
by mold. Guess what? He ateit. Anyway, the history of Roquefort
according to Taste Francemagazine, it goes back in the official
record all the way to the 11th century.
Holy cow.
According to Travel FranceOnline, 2 million years ago. 2 million
years ago, the Combaloumountain experienced a big collapse.
(03:41):
Really?
It left behind a cliff withnatural caves. And those caves have
a very specific cool, humidatmosphere. They have specific air
currents called fluorines thatregulate temperature and humidity.
They do.
(04:43):
And of course, the naturallyoccurring penicillium. roqueforti
in the RockAcademyOfCheese.com says true roquefort
can only be aged in thesespecific caves. Roquefort is not
a sponsor, but if it was, thead would go right here. I find it
very fascinating that there isanother romantic blue cheese origin
(05:05):
story.
There is.
This time, it takes place in Italy.
Wow.
According to the Cheese Talksfood history site, the Academy of
Cheese and Formaggio Kitchen,a very similar story was happening
around the 9th century in theLombardy region of northern Italy.
A cheese maker in training,who was of course very much in love,
left his post prematurely tobe with his chosen one.
(05:28):
Interesting.
And according to Cheese Talks,he returned the next day in great
horror to find his halffinished cheese had turned bluish
moldy. He was hoping to hidehis mistake, so he poured freshly
made curd on top.
Oh, my.
But that did not work.
Oh, no.
The final cheese also turnedblue. But amazingly, when the cheese
master tasted the wrongcolored cheese, they say here he
(05:49):
became happy and blessedbecause its taste was divine.
Whoa.
This next section is gonnatest my pronunciation and your poor
ears as well.
My poor ears?
According to FormaggioKitchen, the Italians called the
bluing in Gorgonzolaerborinato, which, like the French
term persille, ,translatesasparsley Referring to the color and
(06:13):
visual appearance of the veins.
Wow.
According to the cheesescientist, until the early 20th century,
Gorgonzola was calledstracchinoStracchinoverde.Sure itwas,meaning
stracchinoStracchino,acategoryofofyoung,softItaliancheese. Thatname,streno,
ortheoneI can't pronounce,comes from the Italian word for tired.
Because the cows coming downfrom the mountains were tired and
(06:34):
their milk was particularlyrich. It can only be produced in
Lombardy and Piedmont.
Wow.
This next story is a bit of astretch. It is a cheese adjacent
love story.
Okay.
There is a cheese in theUnited States called Clemson blue.
According to the ClemsonUniversity blue cheese official history
page, the story begins with anative American woman named Issaqueena.
(06:58):
She fell in love with asilversmith named David Francis.
The Clemson history page sayswhen Issaquina learned that her tribe
was planning a surprise attackon David's settlement, she mounted
her pony and rode through theforest to warn him. The duo fled
into the mountains. They tookshelter in a large hollow tree or
a stump house. And when hertribesmen finally tracked them down
(07:19):
to a nearby waterfall nowcalled Issaquina Falls, she jumped
off the edge and disappeared.Believing her to be gone, the warriors
gave up the search.
Right.
But they say she survived. Shelater rejoined David and they fled
to Alabama to live happilyever after. The place they hid, the
stump house, gave its name toStumphouse Mountain. Of course, now,
(07:39):
on the blue cheese page,inside Stump House Mountain, there
is a tunnel.
Oh.
The tunnel was started in1852. It was part of a railroad project
meant to connect the Midwestto the port of Charleston, South
Carolina.
Wow.
The civil War stopped theconstruction. The project was abandoned,
and the tunnel sat empty for80 years. But in 1940, according
(08:01):
to the history page, an alertClemson professor looked at the abandoned
tunnel and noticed somethinginteresting. Cold air moving out
of the tunnel pulled warm airdown the air shaft, condensing moisture
and producing constant wetnesson the tunnel walls. The temperature
and humidity were nearlyidentical to the conditions in the
caves at Roquefort. TheClemson dairy department began curing
(08:23):
blue cheese in the tunnel in1941. World War II interrupted production
Operations resumed in 1953with milk from Clemson's herd of
680 Brown Swiss and Holstein cows.
Wow.
The cheese was manufactured oncampus, transported 30 miles and
cured in the tunnels. Andapparently in 1956, air conditioned
(08:44):
cheese ripening rooms werebuilt on campus to duplicate the
tunnel's conditions. Thiseliminated the need to transport
the cheese. Clemson bluecheese has been made on campus ever
since. The Clemson team makesover 25000 pounds o cheese yearly.
Holy cow.
I'd say anytime there'scheese, that in itself is a love
story.
I'm ready for a joke fondue.
(09:05):
Okay. Why was the cave sad?
I don't know why?
Because it was filled withblue cheese. I get it. Blue cheese
is sad.
It's another dumb one.
Oh, I know it was another dumbone, but it was a little bit cheesy.
Thanks for listening to JustCheesy, the podcast episode Something
Blue.
Thank you.
(09:26):
To the caves of southernFrance, to the hills of Italy, to
a tunnel in South Carolina.Cheese has been finding its way into
our hearts all over the world.
I love cheese.
If you want to hear morestories like this, find us@justcheesy.com
yeah, and wherever you getyour podcasts.
and say cheesy, everybody.
Just Cheesy, the podcastpresented by Just Cheesy Productions.
Hi, there. I'm your host, Fondue.
I'm Cheesy.
In this week's episode, we'retalking all about romance and blue
cheese. We're gonna learn whatmakes cheese blue. We're discussing
legends of a shepherd inFrance, a cheesemaker in Italy, and
(00:24):
a native American in SouthCarolina. And, of course, we're gonna
tell our very cheesy joke.Stay tuned. Blue on Just Cheesy the
podcast. I don't know aboutyou, cheesy, but nothing says romantic
wedding season like a littlebit of science. Both the Academy
of Cheese and Markey's Cavecheese site talk a little bit about
(00:46):
the blue veins in blue cheese.Those blue veins in blue cheese are
colonies of a living fungus.In most cases, it's called Penicillium
rociforti.
Ew.
If it sounds familiar, it'sthe bacteria that's found in Roquefort.
It's found in Gorgonzola. It'sfound in Stilton.
It is.
It's found in the Frenchcheese Forme d'. Amber.
(01:08):
What?
Sorry.
Yeah.
And the Spanish Cabralescheese uses a combination of Penicillium
roqueforti, Penicilliumcamemberti, and Penicillium glaucum,
I think.
Is that what it's called?
From what they say here, themold is not harmful.
Really.
It's actually the same genusas the mold that produces penicillin,
although this one does notactually produce the antibiotic.
(01:30):
According to Marquis, the moldcraves oxygen.
It does.
This is why cheese makersactually pierce blue cheese wheels
with long needles duringaging. This creates channels for
air to penetrate the interior.
Whoa.
The oxygen allows penicilliumto grow through the paste, and it
produces the blue greenveining. Without that piercing, the
mold would only grow on thesurface. According to the Academy
(01:52):
of Cheese. Historically,cheesemakers cultivated Penicillium
roqueforti by leaving ryebread loaves in the caves for weeks,
really, until they wereactually consumed by the mold. The
interior interior of the breadwould be dried and then ground into
a fine powder and thensprinkled over the fresh cheese curds.
According to the cheesescientists and the Academy of Cheese,
(02:13):
the flavor compounds producedby Penicillium roqueforti are responsible
for the sharp, peppery, andtangy character of blue cheese. The
mold breaks down the fatsthrough a process called lipolysis.
Okay.
And releasing fatty acids thatgive blue cheese its bite. And much
like all the cheeses, thelonger the aging, the more pronounced
the Flavor, of course. So wenow know. Know what the blue veins
(02:36):
are.
Yeah.
Let's talk about how the veryfirst famous blue cheese came to
exist. Yeah, we're talkingstuff of legends, really. According
to the Academy of Cheese,Taste France magazine and multiple
historical sources, the legendof Roquefort begins with a young
shepherd. He was tending hisflock near the cliffs of Mount Kalu
(02:57):
in southern France. He satdown for a simple lunch of rye bread
and sheep's milk curds. Andthen he spotted a beautiful young
woman in the distance. Ofcourse, he gave up his lunch in a
cool, damp cave and went afterthe woman.
Of course.
According to the SocieteRoquefort official site, when he
returned after several days ofunsuccessful searching, he found
his used milk curds marbledwith blue veins and his bread consumed
(03:20):
by mold. Guess what? He ateit. Anyway, the history of Roquefort
according to Taste Francemagazine, it goes back in the official
record all the way to the 11th century.
Holy cow.
According to Travel FranceOnline, 2 million years ago. 2 million
years ago, the Combaloumountain experienced a big collapse.
(03:41):
Really?
It left behind a cliff withnatural caves. And those caves have
a very specific cool, humidatmosphere. They have specific air
currents called fluorines thatregulate temperature and humidity.
They do.
(04:43):
And of course, the naturallyoccurring penicillium. roqueforti
in the RockAcademyOfCheese.com says true roquefort
can only be aged in thesespecific caves. Roquefort is not
a sponsor, but if it was, thead would go right here. I find it
very fascinating that there isanother romantic blue cheese origin
(05:05):
story.
There is.
This time, it takes place in Italy.
Wow.
According to the Cheese Talksfood history site, the Academy of
Cheese and Formaggio Kitchen,a very similar story was happening
around the 9th century in theLombardy region of northern Italy.
A cheese maker in training,who was of course very much in love,
left his post prematurely tobe with his chosen one.
(05:28):
Interesting.
And according to Cheese Talks,he returned the next day in great
horror to find his halffinished cheese had turned bluish
moldy. He was hoping to hidehis mistake, so he poured freshly
made curd on top.
Oh, my.
But that did not work.
Oh, no.
The final cheese also turnedblue. But amazingly, when the cheese
master tasted the wrongcolored cheese, they say here he
(05:49):
became happy and blessedbecause its taste was divine.
Whoa.
This next section is gonnatest my pronunciation and your poor
ears as well.
My poor ears?
According to FormaggioKitchen, the Italians called the
bluing in Gorgonzolaerborinato, which, like the French
term persille, ,translatesasparsley Referring to the color and
(06:13):
visual appearance of the veins.
Wow.
According to the cheesescientist, until the early 20th century,
Gorgonzola was calledstracchinoStracchinoverde.Sure itwas,meaning
stracchinoStracchino,acategoryofofyoung,softItaliancheese. Thatname,streno,
ortheoneI can't pronounce,comes from the Italian word for tired.
Because the cows coming downfrom the mountains were tired and
(06:34):
their milk was particularlyrich. It can only be produced in
Lombardy and Piedmont.
Wow.
This next story is a bit of astretch. It is a cheese adjacent
love story.
Okay.
There is a cheese in theUnited States called Clemson blue.
According to the ClemsonUniversity blue cheese official history
page, the story begins with anative American woman named Issaqueena.
(06:58):
She fell in love with asilversmith named David Francis.
The Clemson history page sayswhen Issaquina learned that her tribe
was planning a surprise attackon David's settlement, she mounted
her pony and rode through theforest to warn him. The duo fled
into the mountains. They tookshelter in a large hollow tree or
a stump house. And when hertribesmen finally tracked them down
(07:19):
to a nearby waterfall nowcalled Issaquina Falls, she jumped
off the edge and disappeared.Believing her to be gone, the warriors
gave up the search.
Right.
But they say she survived. Shelater rejoined David and they fled
to Alabama to live happilyever after. The place they hid, the
stump house, gave its name toStumphouse Mountain. Of course, now,
(07:39):
on the blue cheese page,inside Stump House Mountain, there
is a tunnel.
Oh.
The tunnel was started in1852. It was part of a railroad project
meant to connect the Midwestto the port of Charleston, South
Carolina.
Wow.
The civil War stopped theconstruction. The project was abandoned,
and the tunnel sat empty for80 years. But in 1940, according
(08:01):
to the history page, an alertClemson professor looked at the abandoned
tunnel and noticed somethinginteresting. Cold air moving out
of the tunnel pulled warm airdown the air shaft, condensing moisture
and producing constant wetnesson the tunnel walls. The temperature
and humidity were nearlyidentical to the conditions in the
caves at Roquefort. TheClemson dairy department began curing
(08:23):
blue cheese in the tunnel in1941. World War II interrupted production
Operations resumed in 1953with milk from Clemson's herd of
680 Brown Swiss and Holstein cows.
Wow.
The cheese was manufactured oncampus, transported 30 miles and
cured in the tunnels. Andapparently in 1956, air conditioned
(08:44):
cheese ripening rooms werebuilt on campus to duplicate the
tunnel's conditions. Thiseliminated the need to transport
the cheese. Clemson bluecheese has been made on campus ever
since. The Clemson team makesover 25000 pounds o cheese yearly.
Holy cow.
I'd say anytime there'scheese, that in itself is a love
story.
I'm ready for a joke fondue.
(09:05):
Okay. Why was the cave sad?
I don't know why?
Because it was filled withblue cheese. I get it. Blue cheese
is sad.
It's another dumb one.
Oh, I know it was another dumbone, but it was a little bit cheesy.
Thanks for listening to JustCheesy, the podcast episode Something
Blue.
Thank you.
(09:26):
To the caves of southernFrance, to the hills of Italy, to
a tunnel in South Carolina.Cheese has been finding its way into
our hearts all over the world.
I love cheese.
If you want to hear morestories like this, find us@justcheesy.com
yeah, and wherever you getyour podcasts.
and say cheesy, everybody.
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