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AOC — PDO — Auvergne
One of France's oldest cheeses — Gallic druids are said to have already known it. Mild, creamy, elegant: Fourme d'Ambert is the beginner's blue and the connoisseur's delight.
Blue cheese from Auvergne, PDO (AOP) since 1996.
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Fourme d'Ambert is one of the oldest cheeses in France: its production dates back with certainty to the early Middle Ages, as attested by a carved stone — one of seven "tithe stones" — adorning a former feudal chapel in La Chaulme (Puy-de-Dôme), in the heart of the monts du Forez. This stone depicts the characteristic silhouette of the fourme alongside other regional products (sausages, ham), irrefutable proof of its existence as early as the 8th–9th century. An older legend recounts that in the time of the Gauls, druids conducting their worship in the monts du Forez were already familiar with this cheese; according to M. Maze, former director of the Institut Pasteur, Fourme was already being prepared in the land of the Arverni even before the Roman conquest — though without formal proof, unlike the carved stone.
The name "fourme" comes from the word "forme", which designated the vessel traditionally used to hold the curd — as this cheese is shaped into a tall, narrow cylinder, distinct from the round, flattened wheels of other regions.
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Produced at altitude, between 600 and 1,600 metres, on the high plateaux of the Forez and Livradois, Fourme d'Ambert is made within the mountain setting typical of the jasseries — those high-pasture buildings where, from June to October, women would settle to make cheese and tend the herd while the men stayed in the village for haymaking and harvesting. From quality milk, produced by cows grazing for at least 150 days a year on these mountain pastures, this mild, creamy fourme was born.
Until 2002, Fourme d'Ambert and Fourme de Montbrison (from the neighbouring Loire) shared the same AOC, obtained in 1972. In 2002, two decrees legally separated them into two distinct PDOs, with differentiated specifications. Fourme d'Ambert has retained its reputation as France's "mildest" blue.
In the 18th century, Fourme d'Ambert was so prized that it served as currency to rent the jasseries — a practice that testifies to its status in the traditional mountain economy.
Since obtaining the AOC, production has grown steadily: just 200 tonnes in 1900, compared with 5,300 tonnes in 2012 — a volume multiplied by more than 25 in a century — and nearly 5,800 tonnes sold today, making it France's 10th-largest cheese PDO by volume.
Appearance
Characteristic tall cylinder, dry, bloomy rind, light grey to grey, which may display white, yellow and red moulds as well as bluish tints; white to cream paste dotted with evenly distributed blue-green veining.
Aroma
Fragrant notes, aromas of undergrowth.
Taste
Delicate and fragrant, milky taste accentuated by Penicillium roqueforti, distinctly fruity, a touch of salt and an accepted slight bitterness — the mildest of French blues.
Texture
Supple and creamy.
Fourme d'Ambert laitier — Made in a cheese dairy from milk collected from several farms; this accounts for the majority of production, provided by 6 dairies across the appellation area.
Fourme d'Ambert fermier — Made on the farm with raw, whole milk, not standardised for protein and fat content; a rarer production, carried out by 9 farm producers.
raw or pasteurised cow's milk, renneting at a temperature between 30 and 35°C
initial draining on a belt, followed by unpressed draining by turning, in a room at 18–25°C, for 24 to 48 hours
poured into tall, narrow cylindrical perforated moulds
salting carried out at the end of draining, in brine and/or with dry salt
17 days minimum after piercing, in a cellar or maturing room (hâloir) at 6–12°C, 90–98% humidity
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Thanks to its mildness, Fourme d'Ambert is often cited as a gateway to blue-veined cheeses — less assertive than Roquefort or Bleu d'Auvergne.
Food and wine pairings: its fragrant notes and fruity taste pair equally well with savoury and sweet dishes — fresh fruit, walnuts, fresh bread — and lend themselves just as well to cooking (salads, savoury tarts, omelettes) as to a cheese board.
Since: 1972
Area covered: Puy-de-Dôme (63), Cantal (15), Loire (42) — Forez-Livradois
Key requirements: Cow's milk, matured for a minimum of 28 days
Shared with Fourme de Montbrison until 2002.
Since: 1996
Area covered: Puy-de-Dôme (63), Cantal (15), Loire (42) — Forez-Livradois
Key requirements: Compulsory piercing from the 4th day, minimum 17 days' cellar maturation at 6–12°C, 90–98% humidity
Fourme d'Ambert and Fourme de Montbrison have been two distinct PDO (AOP)s since 2002, with slightly different specifications.
Cooperative cheese dairy — Producer & affineur
Cheese dairy — Producer & affineur
Cheese dairy — Fourme d'Ambert PDO (AOP) producer
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Request a listingCooperative cheese dairy — Producer & affineur
Société Laitière de Laqueuille presents itself as a maker of Auvergne cheeses since 1949. Located in Laqueuille, at the heart of the Bleu d'Auvergne and Fourme d'Ambert PDO (AOP) zone, it defines itself as a blue cheese specialist and offers its cheeses across four ranges: pasteurised milk, raw milk, organic milk, and portions.
It states that since 2008 it has been producing raw-milk Bleu d'Auvergne PDO and Fourme d'Ambert PDO in a separate workshop dedicated exclusively to this production. Its best-seller, Bleu de Laqueuille, is nicknamed 'le Bleu de la Mémée' by the people of Auvergne.
Mondial du Fromage et des Produits Laitiers · Tours
| Address | 372 ROUTE DES NEIGES, 63820 Saint-Julien-Puy-Lavèze, France |
| 04 73 22 18 00 | |
| fromages-laqueuille.fr | |
| Facebook page | |
| Visits | To be completed |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2010. |
Cheese dairy — Producer & affineur
The company presents itself as a maker and affineur since 1911, a venture begun in 1904: its first Saint-Nectaire cheeses were matured in Clermont-Ferrand from 1911, before the manufacture of Cantal PDO (AOP) was established at its Saint-Flour dairy. It offers Auvergne cheeses (Saint-Nectaire, Cantal, Salers, Bleu d'Auvergne, Gaperon) and Pyrenean cheeses (Petit Bethmale, Tomme Prestige). A new production facility for Cantal PDO there was co-financed by the European Union under the FEADER.
Mondial du Fromage et des Produits Laitiers · Tours
| Address | Le Rozier, 8 rue de la tranchée, 15100 Saint-Flour, France |
| +33 4 63 56 50 11 | |
| pauldischamp.com | |
| Facebook page | |
| @fromageriesdischamp | |
| Visits | To be completed |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2020. |
