Fourme d'Ambert

Fourme d'Ambert is an unpressed, uncooked, blue-veined cow's milk cheese produced in a defined area centred on the Forez mountains across the departments of Puy-de-Dôme, Loire, and parts of Cantal. The specification requires a cylindrical form between 17 and 21 cm in height and 12.5 and 14 cm in diameter, weighing between 1.9 and 2.5 kg, with a fat content of at least 50 % after total desiccation.

About this designation

Fourme d'Ambert holds PDO status registered under file number PDO-FR-0119, with EU protection granted on 2 July 1996; the eAmbrosia identifier is EUGI00000012902. The cheese is an unpressed, uncooked, fermented, and salted blue-veined cheese made with renneted cow's milk. The rind is light grey to grey in colour and may carry white, yellow, and red mould on the surface with a blue sheen; the interior is white to cream with cracks and an even distribution of blue to green veins. The matured cheese must have a dry matter content of at least 50 % and a fat content of at least 50 % after total desiccation. Dairy cows must be fed exclusively on fodder from within the geographical area, with grazing mandatory when weather permits. Milk may not be kept on the farm for more than 48 hours after the first milking. Curdling with rennet alone takes place at a temperature between 30 and 35 °C. Holes are made in the cheese from the fourth day after renneting, at a room temperature of 6 to 15 °C. Maturation then proceeds in a cellar or ripening room held at 6 to 12 °C and 90 to 98 % relative humidity for at least 17 days. The designation may not be applied before the 28th day following renneting. Labels must carry the words 'Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'. Inspection is conducted by the I.N.A.O. and the D.G.C.C.R.F.

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

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 2 July 1996 under file number PDO-FR-0119; eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012902.
• The specification requires a cylinder between 17 and 21 cm in height and 12.5 and 14 cm in diameter, weighing between 1.9 and 2.5 kg.
• The designation may not be used before the 28th day following renneting; maturation at 6 to 12 °C and 90 to 98 % relative humidity must last at least 17 days.
• A 2010 amendment formally separated Fourme d'Ambert from the previously joint designation 'Fourme d'Ambert or Fourme de Montbrison', recognising them as two distinct products.

Tasting notes

Auvergne cow's milk blue cheese in distinctive tall cylindrical shape, aged minimum 28 days. Pale ivory paste with delicate evenly-distributed blue-green Penicillium veining, semi-soft moist creamy texture, balanced gentle blue flavor — among the mildest French blues.

HoReCa use

Plateau de fromages (gentle blue option); melted in tartes salées; with pears and walnuts; gateaway blue for cheese-shy diners; pairs with Sauternes and late-harvest wines.

Packaging

• wheel-full-2-2.5kg
• wheel-half-vacuum-1kg
• wedge-vacuum-300g
• wedge-vacuum-150g