Le Fromage

Somewhat wearied by debates heavy with political significance, the Senate turned its attention to cheese. The question before the august Senators was whether the manufacturers of Gruyere cheese had the right to manufacture Roquefort cheese.

Senator Mosservin rose, said :

"I don't seek to make the debate poetical, but I must recall the most ancient fame of this cheese [Roquefort]. Pliny the Elder and Julius Caesar extolled its fame as one of the best products of the Gauls. It resisted all invasions, inasmuch as, in the Dark Ages, charters included Roquefort cheeses in the tributes to be annually contributed to the stores of feudal lords. Other charters of Charles VI and VII and letters patent of Francis I and Louis XIII solemnly ruled that Roquefort cheese must be made with sheep's milk and aged in the natural grottos of Roquefort.

"There was also a parliamentary edict of 1666 which forbade the sale at Roquefort of any cheeses not made according to the above provisions."

He then traced Roquefort cheese from the sheep to the tinsel foil in which it is wrapped. After this, the Senate referred the matter to a committee.