What Is the Difference Between Roquefort and Blue Cheese?

Author : Efrain Silva

What is the difference between Roquefort and Blue cheese? This is one of the questions that gets asked the most on the Internet, these days. And if you don’t believe me, do a Google search and see it trending. Even other search engines have had the question repeated constantly, and you can simply know that by starting to type in the very first few words of that question and see the rest populate before you can even finish the rest of the sentence….nuff’ said, it’s a popular topic I want to talk with you about.

Yes, many people do, as a matter of fact, confuse one of these cheeses for the other. And the difference is that Roquefort is more specific as a category of blue cheese, while Blue cheese is more broad and can vary a range of cheeses falling within this category. Also, Roquefort cheese distinguishes itself as having been made only with Penicillium roqueforte, in addition to Laucaune sheep’s milk, respectively. Blue cheese, on the other hand, can either come from any type of sheep, goat, or cow and its milk. See the difference?

There is more to keep in mind — people produce Roquefort, first and foremost, mainly at the source in southern France. Whereas with Blue cheese, depending on the specific type of blue cheese that it actually is, can come from just about anywhere in the world. So while Roquefort is blue cheese, a type of it, not all Blue cheese is Roquefort, and for some, that can easily get confusing. What I do mean is this : Blue cheese is one name for blue cheese (general category of cheese, broader category, not titled or capitalized like the actual blue cheese type that is called Blue cheese), and Roquefort is another. Read that over a few times, and it will hopefully make perfect sense…wait for that mental light bulb to turn on, and you will be so happy once it does, heh heh. I know I was….there is indeed a subtle difference here between the name and category, and its marketing, overall.

Roquefort, also, can be blue with white or green with white while Blue cheese is only blue with white. Roquefort has also got quite a distinct odor, strong like any blue cheese, but noticeable only to the very observant nose. Spend an entire day sniffing this cheese, alongside a glass of wine, and you may have trained to nose to be able to distinguish the difference. Do the same for Blue cheese.

Roquefort cheese also gets further ripened in caves, like those of limestone, found in its distinct regions. This healthy mold that grows on it only further helps it become the unique cheese that it is, when all is said and done. Yet since both cheeses tend to taste the same, as many have agreed, it can still be hard to make out which is which, a true challenge for the avid cheese lover.