St. Nectaire is a French semisoft, washed rind cheese from the Auvergne region of France. Made from the milk of Salers cows that feed on rich, volcanic pastures, St. Nectaire is both a fermier (farmhouse) and industrial cheese. Depending whether the processes are artisanal (raw milk) or industrial (pasteurised milk), the texture attributes in St. Nectaire are vastly different.
AOC awarded, St. Nectaire fremier takes six to eight weeks to mature on rye straw mats, imparting a peculiar pungent smell to the cheese. When properly aged, it has a grayish-purple washed rind, dotted with white, yellow and red molds. The creamy, supple, silky textured paste melts in the mouth to reveal flavours of nuts, hay, cellars and mushroom.
St. Nectaire fremier is easily recognizable by the oval label while the industrial version is stamped with a square label. A glass of Bordeaux, Shiraz, Côtes d'Auvergne or Beaujolais and St. Nectaire will go hand-in-hand.

Saint-Nectaire

Association of Cheese Auvergne PDO

Produced in the Auvergne region, Fourme d'Ambert (or simply Ambert) is one of France's oldest cheeses, dating back to the Roman occupation nearly 1,000 years ago. It is said that the Druids and the Gauls had developed the art of making this unique cheese. In 2002 it was separated from the Fourme de Montbrison, an identical cheese, to receive an individual AOC status.
The cheese is a traditional, farmhouse blue cheese that can be either co-operative or artisanal. Fourme d'Ambert is more supple and dense than most blues. Milk from cows grazing on either lower or higher mountain pastures is used to produce the cheese. Although, the cheese matures in 40 days, it is cave-aged for two-three months for optimum quality. During the aging time, it is injected with Vouvray moelleux, a sweet white wine. It is easily recognizable by its unusually tall cylindrical shape.
The pâté is cream coloured with prominent blue veining. The cheese is inoculated with Penicillium roqueforti spores for the growth of blue veins. Slightly tangy, savory flavour infused by the bacteria, beautiful complements the distinct notes of butter and cream.
Wine connoisseurs can enjoy the cheese with Sauternes and other dessert wines as well as full bodied reds such as Rhone’s, Pinot Noirs and Syrah. Similar cheeses include Fourme de Montbrison, Bleu de Montbrison, Bleu de Gex and Bleu de Septmoncel. Try the cheese as a snack with bread and fruit or crumble it on salads.

Fourme d'Ambert

Bleu d'Auvergne is a French blue cheese named after its place of origin in the Auvergne region of south-central France. The cheese can be made from raw or pasteurised milk and is sometimes attributed as cow’s milk version of Roquefort (although it is much creamier and buttery). It was awarded AOC status in 1975 and is available in both artisanal and industrial versions.
Bleu d'Auvergne is creamy ivory colour, dotted with blue-green mould due to the Penicillium roqueforti which gives the cheese its typical bluish-green veins. It is aged for minimum 4 weeks, by which time the cheese showcases its assertive flavours and smooth texture. The rind is moist and sticky unveiling a soft paste with a grassy, herbaceous, and (with age) spicy, peppery, salty, pungent taste. The strong aroma and full flavoured characteristics of the cheese are at its optimum when served with sweet dessert wines such as riesling and sauvignon blanc or strong, robust red wines. The cheese is often used in salad dressings, pastas and also is a good cheese for snacking.

Bleu d'Auvergne

Cantal AOC is one of the oldest cheeses in France dating to the times of the Gaul’s rule. It received an Appellation d'Origine (AOC) status from the administrative region of Cantal in the Auvergne region in 1956. This has ensured that the semi-hard, uncooked, pressed cheese has the features and characteristics attributable to the area of origin.
There are three types of Cantal cheese, grouped according to age and texture. Cantal jeune, a young cheese is aged at 30 to 60 days during which it develops a thin gray-ivory crust and a smooth, pale yellow, close-textured paste. It is fresh, sweet, milky in flavour with a light hint of hazelnut, and vanilla.
Cantal Entre-deux, an aged Cantal has the flavours of the green pastures and aromas of butter and cream. From 3 months of ripening, Cantal cheese starts to come into its own.
Creative Commons/TechniqueA well-aged Cantal Vieux has a thick crust and is a cheese connoisseur’s delight. Due to the lengthy ripening period, the cheese has become more strongly flavoured and is a typical hard cheese with a firm, brittle and crumbly paste. The 8-month stay inside the cellars let Cantal develop a peppery and spicy aroma.
The cheese is additionally grouped as “fremier” and “laitier”, wherein fermier is a farmhouse cheese made of raw milk while laitier is the commercial, mass-produced version from pasteurised milk.
Cantal works well with nuts, grapes and apples as well can be used in salads, soups, cheese fondue or gratins. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are a few wines that pair nicely with Cantal.

Cantal

Salers is often compared to and confused with Cantal cheese. It is traditional, farmhouse, unpasteurised, hard cheese. It has a cylinder shape with hard, brown, natural rind that becomes rough and crusty with age. The aroma is very meaty, and the rich yellow interior is redolent of wild flowers, including dandelions, and fresh green grass. There is an overlying nutty taste and a strong, savory, raw-onion bite. Salers must be made only from the milk of cows that graze on mountain pastures in the summer.
In the Salers region mountains are covered with snow half the year which gives the summer grasses a special richness. Gentian and blueberry grow here. The cheese's crust is thick and has a gray colour. Its pâté is firm yellow and relatively hard. It is a strong cheese and can be matured up to 18 months.

Salers

The Association of Cheese Auvergne PDO (AFA) was founded in 1987 to unite the Auvergne PDO and conduct joint and concerted actions. Its mission is to promote the Auvergne PDO cheeses and optimize synergies between the various stakeholders in the sector.

Association of Cheese Auvergne PDO

Saint-Nectaire

Fourme d'Ambert

Bleu d'Auvergne

Cantal

Salers

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