Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage is a mild pasteurized natural rind cow's milk blue cheese

Blue cheese

Blue cheese is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had cultures of the mold Penicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-green mold, and carries a distinct smell, either from that or...

 originally produced by monks in the Rhône-Alpes

Rhône-Alpes

Rhône-Alpes is one of the 27 regions of France, located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the Rhône River and the Alps mountain range. Its capital, Lyon, is the second-largest metropolitan area in France after Paris...

 region of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in the 14th century. Now made in the Dauphiné

Dauphiné

The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....

 area, the cheese has been a protected Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

 since 1998. As a requirement, the cheese be composed of milk from Montbéliard, Abondance

Abondance (cattle)

The Abondance is a mixed race breed of cattle which originated in the high valleys of Haute-Savoie, France.-Description:They are medium-sized, with the female weighing in at between 580 and 680 kilograms and standing 1.30 metres tall...

 or Villard

Villard-de-Lans

Villard-de-Lans is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.The town is a centre for skiing in winter and hiking and hot air ballooning in other seasons.-1968 Winter Olympics:...

 cows. The cheese is unpressed and uncooked and contains the mold Penicillium roqueforti

Penicillium roqueforti

Penicillium roqueforti is a common saprotrophic fungus from the family Trichocomaceae. Widespread in nature, it can be isolated from soil, decaying organic matter, and plants. The major industrial use of this fungus is the production of blue cheeses, flavouring agents, antifungals, polysaccharides,...

. In Larousse

Pierre Larousse

Pierre Athanase Larousse was a French grammarian, lexicographer and encyclopaedist. He published many of the outstanding educational and reference works of 19th-century France, including the 15 volume Grand Dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle.-Early life:Pierre Larousse was born in Toucy, where...

's Grand Dictionnaire Universel of the 19th century, King Francis I

Francis I of France

Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

is described as being quite fond of the cheese.