Twenty-one kilometres south of Millau, the little village of ROQUEFORT-SUR-SOULZON has nothing to say for itself except cheese, and almost every building is devoted to the cheese-making process.What gives the cheese its special flavour is the fungus, penicillium roqueforti, that grows exclusively in the fissures in the rocks created by the collapse of the sides of the valley on which Roquefort now stands. Legend has it that once upon a time a local shepherd one day forgot his lunch of bread and cheese, and found it some months later, covered with mould. He bit tentatively and discovered to his surprise that instead of ruining the cheese, the mould had much improved its taste. While the sheep's milk used in the making of the cheese comes from different flocks and dairies as far afield as the Pyrenees, the crucial fungus is grown here, on bread. Just 2g of powdered fungus are enough for 4000 litres of milk, which in turn makes 330 Roquefort cheeses; they are matured in Roquefort's many-layered cellars, first unwrapped for three weeks and then wrapped up again. It takes three to six months for the full flavour to develop. Two of the cheese manufacturers have organized visits: Société (daily: July & Aug 9.30am–6.30pm; Sept–June 9.30–11.30am & 1.30–5/5.30pm; €2.29) and Papillon (April–June & Sept daily 9.30–11.30am & 1.30–5.30pm; July & Aug daily 9.30am–6.30pm, rest of year Mon–Fri 9–11.30am & 1.30–5pm; free). Each visit consists of a short film, followed by a tour of the cellars and tasting – not, in fact, very interesting.
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