Fourme de Montbrison 
Fourme de Montbrison is a cow's milk blue cheese from the Forez mountains in southern France, sold in tall cylinders with an orange-brown rind. It is extremely mild for a blue cheese, with a dry taste, and has held its own AOC since 2002.
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | France |
| Specific Origin | Thirty-three communes in the Monts du Forez |
| Protection | PDO (1996), PDO (2002) |
| Milk Type | Cow’s milk |
| Milk Treatment | Raw or Pasteurized |
| Fat Content | Minimum 50% |
| Rind | Fine orangey rind |
| Texture | Dry, slightly rough |
| Flavor | Mild, refined |
| Aroma | Mountainous terrain, heather, gentian |
| Colors | Yellow, blue |
| Forms | Tall cylinders of 1.5 to 2 kg (3.3 to 4.4 lb), 13 cm wide and 19 cm tall; often sold as shorter slices |
| Age | Minimum 28 days after renneting, longer for full maturation |
| Rennet Type | Calf rennet |
| Also Known As | Fôrma de Montbréson (Arpitan) |
What is Fourme de Montbrison Cheese?
Fourme de Montbrison takes its name from the town of Montbrison in the Loire department. The word fourme comes from the Latin forma, meaning shape, the same root believed to lie behind the French word fromage. By regulation the cheese may be made only in 33 communes of the Forez mountains, in the departments of Puy-de-Dôme and Loire. It shared Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée status with Fourme d'Ambert from 1972, and in 2002 each cheese received its own AOC in recognition of how differently they are made.
The curd is salted and moulded, then turned out onto racks of spruce wood. Each block is turned by hand, ninety degrees at a time, across twelve hours. Penicillium roqueforti spores are injected into the cheese, and air is injected later to open pockets in the paste where the mould can develop. Every cheese takes 20 to 25 litres (5.3 to 6.6 US gallons) of milk. Most production uses pasteurised milk, though the growing number of artisanal makers work with unpasteurized milk.
Blocks stand 19 centimetres tall and 13 centimetres across, weighing 1.5 to 2 kg (3.3 to 4.4 lb). The rind is orange-brown, the pâte creamy coloured and speckled with gentle streaks of blue mould. Ageing runs a minimum of 28 days and more often about eight weeks. The finished cheese holds at least 50% fat.
The scent is musty. The taste is dry, and for a blue cheese it is extremely mild. Shops most often sell it in much shorter cylindrical slices rather than whole blocks. Total production came to 495 tons in 2005.
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