Fourme d'Ambert is a semi-hard
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
blue cheese. One of France's oldest cheeses, it dates from as far back as
Roman times.
It is made from raw cow's milk from the
Auvergne region of
France, with a distinct, narrow cylindrical shape.
The semi-hard cheese is inoculated with ''
Penicillium roqueforti
''Penicillium roqueforti'' is a common saprotrophic fungus in the genus ''Penicillium''. Widespread in nature, it can be isolated from soil, decaying organic matter, and plants.
The major industrial use of this fungus is the production of blue ...
'' spores and aged for at least 28 days.
Almost identical to
Fourme de Montbrison
Fourme de Montbrison is a cow's-milk cheese made in the regions of Rhône-Alpes and Auvergne in southern France. It derives its name from the town of Montbrison in the Loire ''department''.
The word ''fourme'' is derived from the Latin word ''f ...
, the two were protected by the same
AOC from 1972 until 2002 when each was recognized as its own cheese with slight differences in manufacture. A likeness of the cheese can be found sculpted above the entrance to a
medieval chapel in
La Chaulme
La Chaulme (; oc, La Chauma) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France.
See also
*Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department
The following is a list of the 464 communes of the Puy-de-Dôme departmen ...
, Puy-de-Dôme.
Although most often produced with pasteurized milk by industry and ''Coopératives'', more recently ''
artisanal'' production has begun using raw milk, and ''farm'' or ''fermier'' production has now restarted.
Currently, four farmers produce annually up to 35 tonnes (38.58 tons) of fourme d'Ambert fermière AOP made with raw milk.
See also
*
List of cheeses
References
Cow's-milk cheeses
Cuisine of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Blue cheeses
French cheeses
Occitan cheeses
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