Description
The Morbier PDO is a cheese with uncooked, pressed paste, produced exclusively with raw milk from Montbéliarde or French Simmental breed cows nurtured with grass and hay.
Production Area
The production area of Morbier PDO covers the geographic area which includes all municipal areas of the departments of Doubs and Jura (except of the canton of Chemin), 16 municipal areas in the department of Ain and 13 municipal areas in the departments of Saône-et-Loire, in the regions of Franche-Comte, Rhone-Alps and Burgundy.
Production Method
The milk used for the production is brought to the temperature of 40°C to enable it to curdle. Then the curd is cut in grains of about 1 cm. Later it is slightly pressed to obtain cakes, each of which is divided into two parts. The central, horizontal, black line is obtained, before pressing, through the addition of charcoal (carbo médicinalis vegetalis in the mid of one of the two sides of the cheese). The cheese ripening lasts at least 45 days, from the production day, at a temperature between 7°C and 15°C. The rind is obtained through brushing with salted water and the possible addition of milk enzymes.
Appearance and Flavour
Morbier PDO has a cylindrical shape with flat sides and slightly hollow trim. The rind is natural, smooth and homogeneous, with a colour spanning from light grey to orangebeige. The weight goes from 5 kg to 8 kg, while the diameter measures from 30 cm to 40 cm and the height from 5 cm to 8 cm. The paste, divided from a horizontal, black line is ivory to pale yellow colour, with fine and soft grain, an oily and fondant consistency and, sometimes with minute cracks. The taste is slightly creamy and characteristic.
History
Morbier PDO's name comes from the city of Morbier located in the department of Jura in the Franche-Comte, about 15 km from the frontier between France and Switzerland. Its production goes back to the 18th century. In winter, the famers which did not have enough milk to make big cheeses, curdled the morning milk and covered it with a thin layer of charcoal ash to protect and conserve it. Then, they added the curd of evening milking to pack this small cheese with the black line. Its production, at the beginning, was made by farmers but later it was produced also by the fruitières, agricultural diary cooperatives in the Massif of Jura.
Gastronomy
Morbier PDO must be conserved in the least cold compartment of the refrigerator into a sealed package. Before eating it, it is suggested to leave it at room temperature for about one hour. It is tasted cold or used to prepare different dishes. Generally, Morbier PDO is tasted at the end of a meal with homemade bread, but it can also be used to prepare traditional dishes like raclette or quiches. It is ideal combined with wines from the Franche-Comte like Arbois or with pungent, white wines like Muscadet or Sancerre.
Marketing
The product is sold as Morbier PDO. It is marketed whole or in portions.
Distinctive Features
Morbier PDO is a cheese produced in the high pastures of the Massif of Jura, where the diversity of the natural flora enables to produce high-quality milk and cheeses with unique features. It can be immediately recognised from the other cheeses due to the peculiar, horizontal stripe made of charcoal.
