Blue cheese is believed to have been discovered by accident when cheeses were stored in natural temperatures and moisture-controlled caves which happen to be favorable environments for many varieties of harmless mold. It was moist in the cave so the mold would form. According to legend, one of the first blue cheeses,
Roquefort, was discovered when a young boy, eating bread and
ewes' milkcheese, abandoned his meal in a nearby cave after seeing a beautiful girl in the distance. When he returned months later, the mold (
Penicillium roqueforti) had transformed his cheese into Roquefort.