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The cheese is manufactured in tall cylindrical blocks weighing between 1.5 and 2 kilograms. The blocks are 13 centimetres in diameter and 19 centimetres tall, although the cheese is most
frequently sold in shops in much shorter cylindrical slices.
Fourme de Montbrison has a characteristic orange-brown rind with a creamy-coloured pâte, speckled with gentle streaks of blue mould.
Its Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée status was granted in 1972 under a joint decree with Fourme d'Ambert, a similar blue cheese also from the same region. In 2002 the two cheeses received AOC status in
their own right, recognizing the differences in their manufacture.[2]
With a musty scent, the cheese is extremely mild for a blue cheese and has a dry taste.
Contents [hide]
1 Manufacture
2 References
3 See also
4 External links
[edit] Manufacture
The curd is salted and placed into a mould before being removed and placed on racks made
from spruce wood. The cheese is then turned by hand, ninety degrees at a time, over a period of twelve hours. The cheese is injected with penicillium roqueforti spores, and later injected with air to
form pockets in the pâte to encourage spore development.
The cheese must be aged for at least 28 days, though more often it is left for around 8 weeks. Around 20-25 litres of milk are used to make
each cheese. By regulation the cheese may only be manufactured in any of 33 communes of the Monts du Forez in the departments of Puy-de-Dôme and Loire.[3]
The finished cheese is a minimum of 50%
fat, and although the majority of production uses pasteurized milk, the growing artisanal manufacturers are using unpasteurized milk. The total production in 2005 was 495 tons.[4]
[edit] References
^ Masui, Kazuko; Tomoko Yamada (1996). French Cheeses. Dorling Kindersley. pp. p. 134. ISBN 0-7513-0896-X.
^ "AOC". Fourme d'Ambert et de Montbrison.
http://www.fourme-ambert.com/htm/aoc.htm.
^ "AOC Fourme de Montbrison". INAO. http://www.inao.gouv.fr/public/produits/showTexte.php?ID_TEXTE_CO NSOLIDE=376.
^ "La
Fourme de Montbrison". maison-du-lait.com. http://www.maison-du-lait.com/Prodlait/AOC/Fourme_Montbrison.html.
[edit] See also
Fourme d'Ambert
Bleu de Montbrison
Bleu de Gex
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