Fourme d'Ambert is a semi-hard French blue cheese. One of France's oldest cheeses, it dates from as far back as

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

. It is made from raw cow's milk from the

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, with a distinct, narrow cylindrical shape. The semi-hard cheese is inoculated with '' Penicillium roqueforti'' spores and aged for at least 28 days. Almost identical to Fourme de Montbrison, the two were protected by the same

AOC Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...

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 In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

chapel in La Chaulme, Puy-de-Dôme. Although most often produced with pasteurized milk by industry and ''Coopératives'', more recently ''

artisanal An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

'' 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.

References

Cow's-milk cheeses Cuisine of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Blue cheeses French cheeses Occitan cheeses {{cheese-stub

See also

References