AOP fourme de Montbrison

PDO since 1972, the Fourme de Montbrison is made in the Monts du Forez (the area covers 33 communes in Auvergne Rhône Alpes). Today the sector accounts 4 farmer producers,1 artisan, 2 dairies.
The Fourme de Montbrison originates from a recognized know how registered in Patrimoine Culturel Immatériel national of Unesco since 2018. It is a rare product with around 688 tonnes in 2022.
 
Fourme de Montbrison is a blue veined cheese made from cow’s milk and produced in 33 communes in the Monts du Forez (east of the Massif central). Known to the Gauls, its precise origins date back to the Middle Ages when it was known as “fromage de Roche”, a commune in the PDO area.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, it was the women and their eldest daughter who led the herds up to the jasseries (the local name for the small mountain pasture farms) where the mountain pastures were used 6 months of the year, while the men worked in the fields below on the other farms. Matured all summer, the “fourmes” were then brought down to be sold at the Montbrison market.
Made with 20 to 25 litres of milk, salting is done during the moulding which produces the original taste of its blue. The fourmes de Montbrison are then laid on wooden racks made of spruce. Manually turned one quarter turn every 12 hours, it is during this period that the rind takes on its fine orangey colour.
Matured for a long period in the heart of the mountains, the Fourme de Montbrison is unique in its expression of this mountainous terrain, the fragrance of heather and gentian flowers, the influence of the seasons and the savoir-faire of the men and women of the Forez.
When it leaves the maturing cellars, Fourme de Montbrison has a fine orangey rind. Dry and slightly rough, the cheese is yellow and discretely blue-veined, with a marbled aspect and a mild and refined taste.
Traditionally, Fourme de Montbrison is cut into two along its diameter and then into four along its length.
 
This delicate taste and its qualities in cooking make it an appreciated ingredient in numerous recipes. It will be perfect with a red Côtes du Forez basaltique or a white St Joseph.
  
Fourme de Montbrison is an outstanding product which originates from an amazing marriage between a rigorous dairy production and a handmade and involved processing. Indeed, 100% of the feed intake comes from the aera of the appellation (the area covers 33 communes in Auvergne Rhône Alpes). 2 mains points during the production can be underlined and made cheese unique: the first one is that the coagulated and sliced milk is salted and placed in molds. The second one is that the white cheese is drained in on resinous wooden racks for at least six days.
Fourme de Montbrison is a PDO cheese made with cow milk. It has a cylindric shape: around 17-21 cm high, with a diameter close to 11,5-14,5 cm and a weigh between 2,1 and 2,7 kg. It is a blue cheese, unpressed, uncooked, fermented. The ring, dry and flowered is orange and can present some white, red and orange molds. The paste is creamy with a blue and homogeneous marbling.
Blue cheese, this cheese is delicate, and fruity as well. What we can say about the texture is that it is firm and soft in the same time. This cheese is like a chameleon which is able to match with many kinds of recipes: en gratin, en fondue, and in salad as well, the fourme de Montbrison knows how to compose with its flavors.
The Syndicat de la Fourme de Montbrison gambles the appellation workers. This structure keeps an eye on the exigences respect, promotes and defends the chain spotlighting the product and enhancing technical actions.