from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
A wedge of Bleu d'Auvergne AOP
Bleu d'Auvergne AOP - A creamy, crumbly, and tasty, 29% fat, blue, (fromage à pâte persillés), cow’s milk cheese made from non-pasteurized milk from the department of Cantal in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. (Pasteurized milk is used for exports to the USA). The cheese is aged for a minimum of four weeks before sale. On the menu Bleu d'Auvergne will be part of a French apéro, a pre-dinner drink and snack, or in a sauce with steak or fish, on a cheese plater or the cheese trolley, or part of a dessert with fruit. There is excellent dining in the region, with many Auvergnat dishes on French Menus, where the Bleu d'Auvergne has an important part to play.
A whole cheese weighs between 2-3 kilos, (4.5 -6.5 lbs).
Buying cheese in France and taking it home.
The original plan for Bleu d'Auvergne was for a cow’s milk version of the Roquefort sheep’s milk cheese.
The original plan for Bleu d'Auvergne was for a cow’s milk version of the Roquefort sheep’s milk cheese.
Bleu d'Auvergne is a strongly flavored blue cheese that was created by a farmer called Antoine Roussel almost 150 years ago. Originally Roussel planned for the cheese to be a cow’s milk version of the Roquefort sheep’s milk cheese and Roquefort is a very potent blue cheese. While Bleu d'Auvergne is a strong cheese, it is not up there with Roquefort among the powerhouse blue cheeses.
The dog that ate too much Bleu d’Auvergne cheese.
Bleu d'Auvergne on French menus:
Bavette d'Aloyau à la Plancha, Sauce au Bleu d'Auvergne – A flank steak cooked on a thick iron plancha and served with a Bleu d'Auvergne sauce.
Moules au Bleu d'Auvergne, Frites – Moules Frites - Mussels cooked in a broth flavored with Bleu d'Auvergne and served with French fries, chips, accompanied by fresh mayonnaise.
Pavé de Bœuf "Aubrac," Sauce au Bleu d'Auvergne et Aligot – A rump steak from the Label Rouge, red label, Aubrac beef served with a Bleu d’Auvergne sauce and accompanied by Aligot.
The Aubrac cattle are raised on the Aubrac plateau. There the cattle freely graze, in summer, from the south of the Massif Central through parts of the department of Cantal in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the department of Lozère in the region of Occitanie.
Aligot is a traditional, tasty, mashed potato and cheese dish that remains very popular.
N.B. On 1-1-2016 France changed the borders of its mainland regions creating super-regions including Occitanie and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Thereby, reducing the number of mainland France regions from 22 to 13.
Aubrac cattle.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/loloieg/9583448627/sizes/m/
Truite de Vourzac au Bleu d'Auvergne - Trout, from the department of Haute-Loire in the south of the Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes prepared with the Bleu d’Auvergne cheese. On a menu listing like this, you may usually choose if you prefer your fish grilled, fried or steamed.
Fishing in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129993975@N04/21025503022/
Velouté d'Asperges, Poire au Bleu d'Auvergne – A velvety soup made with asparagus, pears and the Bleu d'Auvergne.
Chilled asparagus soup with Bleu d'Auvergne and goat's cheese.
The town of Riom-ès-Montagnes
In the department of Cantal in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is the small, walkable, town of Riom-ès-Montagnes. The town is the center for farmers whose cows provide the milk for the Bleu d’Auvergne cheese; nearly 25 liters of milk are needed for every kilo of cheese.
Riom-ès-Montagnes and its farmers are also very proud of the gentian plants they grow. The nationally popular, alcoholic drink called Suze is made with gentian roots though the primary use of gentian is for homeopathic medicines. Riom-ès-Montagnes has a gentian festival, their Fête de la Gentiane on the first weekend in July and then six weeks later they have a festival for their famous blue cheese their Fête du Bleu d'Auvergne.
For more about Riom-ès-Montagnes use the Bing or Google translation apps and click on these two French language websites with links to the town:
The Fete of the Fromage Bleu d'Auvergne.
The Fête du Bleu d'Auvergne, is held in Riom-ès-Montagnes during the third weekend in August. Their website, like the others, is in French only, but with a translation app is easily understood.
The Regional Natural Volcano Park of the Auvergne
Riom-ès-Montagnes is inside the Regional Natural Volcano Park of the Auvergne, Le Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne. The park is the largest regional park in France, and apart from more than 80 enthralling, but extinct, volcanoes in the summer there is hiking, fishing, and water sports; all that apart from the Bleu d’Auvergne cheese.
Inside the Volcano Park.
The park’s English language website is:
All the AOP cheeses from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Depending on how you count them the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is blessed with 15 or 16 AOP cheeses, more than any other region in France:
Abondance AOP, a hard, yellow cow’s milk cheese.
Beaufort AOP, a hard, yellow cow’s milk cheese.
Bleu d'Auvergne, the subject of this post.
Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage AOP a mild, pasteurized, cow’s milk, blue cheese.
Cantal AOP, a hard, yellow, cow’s milk cheese.
Chevrotin AOP, a soft, goat's milk cheese.
Fourme d’Ambert AOP, a blue veined, mild, cow’s milk cheese.
Fourme de Montbrison AOP, a mild cow’s milk blue cheese, very much like the Fourme de Ambert AOP.
Picodon AOP, Picadon de l'Ardèche AOP or Picodon de la Drome AOP, the first goat's milk cheese to be awarded an AOC.
Reblochon AOP, a soft, cow’s milk cheese.
Salers AOP, a hard, yellow cows’ milk cheese.
Rigotte AOP or Rigotte de Condrieu AOP, a soft, goat’s milk cheese.
Saint-Nectaire AOP a creamy and nutty, semi-firm, cow’s milk cheese.
Tome des Bauges AOP - a semi-hard, cow’s milk cheese.
Other cheeses from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes:
Bleu de Gex AOP is also called the Blue du Haut Jura and the Blue de Septmoncel. – A mild, cow’s milk, blue cheese, claimed by the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (Burgundy and Franche-Comté) where about 50% of the cheese is made in the department of Jura. The other 50% comes from the department of Ain in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Gruyere Francaise IGP - French Gruyere IGP, a hard, yellow cheese. Not unsurprisingly French Gruyere tastes somewhat similar to the Swiss Gruyere. While, the French cheese has small holes, and the Swiss has none. The French lost the rights to call their cheese Gruyere AOP in the European Union as the town of Gruyere is a Swiss city. Nevertheless, French Gruyere will be on many menus in France and then it is usually just called Gruyere without any declared nationality.
Tomme de Savoie IGP - A semi-soft cow’s milk cheese. A very popular and tasty cheese that remains without an AOP. I learned to love this cheese while spending a week travelling around Lake Annecy. Lake Annecy is in the department of Haute-Savoie in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Connected Posts:
Beaufort AOP, One of France's Finest Cheeses.
The Names of France’s Mainland Regions and Their Borders are Changing. Keep this list with your maps
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2016.
