Fourme d'Ambert
AOP📍 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes · Puy-de-Dôme
Cylindrical blue cheese from Auvergne, mild and smooth.
The cheese
From the Forez and Livradois regions of Auvergne, AOP Fourme d'Ambert is one of the oldest French cheeses (probably older than Roquefort). A blue-veined 2 kg tall cylinder, it is made from raw or pasteurized milk of local-breed cows. Ageing of at least 28 days, with piercing to oxygenate the paste and develop Penicillium roqueforti, produces discreet blue-green veins in an ivory, unctuous paste. In taste, softer and creamier than Roquefort, less aggressive than Bleu d'Auvergne: damp cellar, melted butter, hazelnut, a mineral edge and a slightly piquant finish. Its mildness makes it an excellent introductory blue. Pairings: vin de paille, sweet Jurançon, Port, or simply smashed on a slice of country bread with a pear.