Blue Cheese was most likely discovered centuries ago, when cheeses stored in moldy caves became streaked with bluish-green mold. The blue mold in these cheeses is from Penicillium roqueforti or Penicillium glaucum. Initially each of these cheeses were produced in caves in their particular areas, where the mold was naturally present.

Today most blue cheeses are either injected with the mold, as with Roquefort, or the mold is mixed right into the curds, as it is with Gorgonzola. Many of these cheeses are still aged in the original caves where they were developed.

In 1940, a Clemson professor (then Clemson A&M College) recognized the potential of curing blue mold cheese in the Stumphouse Mountain Tunnel.

Work on the Stumphouse Tunnel was begun in 1852. Building a railroad through and over the mountain was an attempt to connect the busy port of Charleston, South Carolina with Knoxville, Tennessee. When the Civil War came, the work was halted. After the war, efforts to get the work started again failed and the tunnel was abandoned.

The tunnel is 25 feet high, 17 feet wide, and 1600 feet long. At the midpoint, a 16 by 20 foot airshaft extends upward 200 feet to the surface. Cold air moving out of the entrance of the tunnel pulls warm air down the shaft. The moisture in this warm air is condensed by the cold air in the tunnel and produces a constant dampness in the tunnel, which is favorable for curing blue cheese.

After some experimentation, the Clemson A&M College Dairy Department cured the first blue cheese in the Stumphouse Tunnel in 1941. However, the outbreak of World War II limited the production, and the work was discontinued in 1944; mostly because the milk used for cheese production was needed for aviation cadets quartered on campus. In 1951 Clemson A&M College bought the tunnel and the blue cheese production was re-started. From 1953 to 1956 the cheese was manufactured on campus and transported 30 miles, to be cured in the tunnel.

Newman Hall and the Agricultural Center were built at Clemson in 1956. Air-conditioned cheese ripening rooms were designed to duplicate the tunnels high humidity and temperature. These rooms eliminated the need for suspending operations during the warm summer months, which was necessary in the tunnel. The college was re-named Clemson University in 1964.

Clemson Blue Cheese is an artisan cheese made in the Roquefort-style. Each 288-gallon vat makes a batch of about 240 pounds, which is then salted, waxed, and aged for 6 months. When ready, each hoop is scraped and packaged by hand.

Clemson Blue Cheese can be purchased at the Hendrix Student Center Eastside Food Court in Clemson.

Savory Clemson Blue Cheese Cake with Brandy

• 12 Servings
• 1 pound Clemson blue cheese
• 1 teaspoon green peppercorns
• 1/4 cup brandy,
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups Graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup melted butter.

In a small bowl stir together Graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform.  Set aside. In a large bowl combine blue cheese, peppercorn and brandy. Beat with an electric mixer till smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour the blue cheese mixture over the crust. Bake at 360 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 225 degrees and bake for 1 hour. Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan. Turn the oven off; return the cake to the oven for an additional 1 hour. Chill until serving time.