Cheese, Moldy

Like wine and truffles, moldy cheeses are products of the damp, dark underworld. Legend has it that the first moldy cheese was discovered thousands of years ago when an absent-minded shepherd left his curds and bread in a cave while he was off chasing sheep. The shepherd returned to find a moldy sandwich but was so hungry he ate it anyway. Since then, moldy cheeses such as Roquefort, Gorgonzola, English Stilton, and Danish blue have been developed by Europeans into gourmet fare. Government licenses assure a cheese is the genuine article. Aficionados of moldy cheese have included Pliny the Elder, Charlemagne, and Casanova, who considered the cheeses an aphrodisiac.