Bleu des Causses

Bleu des Causses is an unpressed, uncooked, fermented and salted blue-veined cheese made exclusively from renneted, non-skimmed cow's milk, produced within a defined area centred on the department of Aveyron and extending into parts of Lot, Lozère, Gard and Hérault. Ripening must take place within the same geographical area, and the designation may not be used until the 70th day after renneting.

About this designation

Registered as a PDO under file number PDO-FR-0108, with EU protection dating from 21 June 1996 and eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012982, Bleu des Causses is classified under Class 1.3 Cheeses. The specification requires that the cheese be made exclusively from renneted, non-skimmed cow's milk and that it be unpressed and uncooked. The minimum fat content is 50 grams per 100 grams of cheese after total desiccation, and the dry matter content must not be less than 53 grams per 100 grams of cheese. The cheese takes the form of a flat cylinder, regular in shape, with a diameter of 19 to 21 centimetres, a height of 8 to 12 centimetres, and a weight of 2.2 to 3.3 kilograms. The paste is ivory-white, uniform in colour, smooth and fine, with evenly distributed blue-green marbling and possible needlehole traces. The geographical area covers practically all of the department of Aveyron and defined parts of the departments of Lot, Lozère, Gard and Hérault. Milk production and ripening must both occur within this area. At least 80 % in dry matter of the dairy cows' basic ration must come from the geographical area on average over the year, grazing is mandatory when grass is available and may not be less than 120 days a year, and the planting of transgenic crops is prohibited on all farms supplying milk for the designation. The designation of origin may not appear on labelling until the 70th day after renneting. The applicant group is the Syndicat du Bleu des Causses, based in Rodez.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 21 June 1996 under file number PDO-FR-0108; eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012982.
• The designation may not be used until the 70th day after renneting.
• Minimum fat content is 50 grams per 100 grams of cheese after total desiccation; dry matter must not be less than 53 grams per 100 grams.
• Grazing is mandatory for lactating dairy cows when grass is available and may not be less than 120 days a year; transgenic crops are prohibited on all supplying farms.

Tasting notes

Aveyron cow's milk blue cheese aged in same Causses caves as Roquefort. Ivory paste with assertive blue-green veining, firm crumbly texture, intense salty-pungent flavor with sharp Penicillium character — cow-milk counterpart to Roquefort.

HoReCa use

Plateau de fromages; in tartines; melted in sauces; paired with Banyuls and Sauternes.

Packaging

• wheel-full-2.3-3kg
• wheel-half-vacuum-1.5kg
• wedge-vacuum-300g
• wedge-vacuum-150g