Roquefort cheese acquires a particular flavour through ripening with…

The correct answer is Option (2) → Fungi

Different kinds of cheese get their texture, flavour and taste from the microbes used to make them. ‘Roquefort cheese’ is ripened by growing a specific fungus on it, and this fungus gives the cheese its particular flavour.

Option (1) Bacteria — Incorrect. Bacteria are used for other cheeses. The bacterium Propionibacterium sharmanii makes the large holes in Swiss cheese, but Roquefort is ripened by a fungus.

Option (2) Fungi — Correct. Roquefort cheese is ripened by growing a specific fungus on it, which gives it its flavour.

Option (3) Algae — Incorrect. Algae such as blue-green algae are useful as biofertilisers in paddy fields. They are not used to ripen cheese.

Option (4) Protozoa — Incorrect. Protozoa such as Plasmodium and Entamoeba are known in the book as disease-causing organisms. They have no role in making cheese.

NCERT Extract:
Microbes in Household Products – “… Different varieties of cheese are known by their characteristic texture, flavour and taste, the specificity coming from the microbes used. For example, the large holes in ‘Swiss cheese’ are due to production of a large amount of CO₂ by a bacterium named Propionibacterium sharmanii. The ‘Roquefort cheese’ are ripened by growing a specific fungi on them, which gives them a particular flavour.”