Bleu cheese, as many would agree, is a distinct and unique taste that you may really love, or may really hate. It comes in blocks, crumbles, and dressing, but there was one thing about bleu cheese that I was not prepared for on my journey to France. Moisissure, or mold in English, is an ordinary part of bleu cheese in France. It was quite a shock the first time I saw bleu cheese and it looked something like this:

Moldy bleu cheese!

I decided to try it, although I was afraid that it would only taste of mold.  I was relieved to discover it tastes very similar to the bleu cheese in the United States, perhaps even better. I decided to investigate why France bleu cheese has mold and why United States bleu cheese does not.

Apparently, the mold on bleu cheese is somewhat unique as it does not harm us when we eat it, and it can actually even be good for us. Blue mold, which is the one on bleu cheese, can help your digestive system and immune system when you ingest it. I searched for a reason why we would not have this mold on bleu cheese in the United States, and essentially what I found was that as a culture, we think that all mold is bad. If we were in the grocery store and saw mold on a product, we would assume it was bad even on something like bleu cheese where it is safe. I could not find a health related reason as to why we avoid the “moisissure” of cheese.  When I asked my host family about the mold on the cheese, they reaffirmed what I had researched and told me and my housemates that it is good for you. In France, it is completely accepted as part of bleu cheese and as a healthy attribute of bleu cheese.

Even after discovering that there is no reason to not eat the moldy bleu cheese, I still find myself somewhat reluctant to eat it. Clearly, French people have been eating the mold for quite some time and do not have problems because of it, but growing up in that culture where all mold is thought of as bad makes it very difficult to look at bleu cheese and find it appetizing. I have never been a huge fan of bleu cheese, but I must admit that the moldy bleu cheese that I tried in France was much better than the mold free bleu cheese that I have had in the United States.

3 weeks left in Angers!

Maggie