Description
Origin : France, Rhône-Alpes
Milk : Raw
Texture : blue veined
Fat : (%) : 32%
Wine: Soft natural wine
Seasonality : May-September
Animal : Cow
Intensity : Strong
PDO/AOP : Yes
Appearance : Soft
Pregnant woman: No
The cheese was granted a registered designation of origin (AOC) in 1998 before gaining a protected designation of origin (AOP) in 1999. Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage comes from the Vercors Plateau within a regional natural park in an area limited to a few villages of Drôme and Isère.
The isolated nature of the Vercors mountain range helped preserve the traditional production method of this cheese.
Centuries ago, it was common farmhouse practice to boil the milk from the day before and, after skimming it slightly, to mix it with that morning’s raw milk. Rennet was then added. Once this preparation was mixed and drained, the curds were poured into molds.
The cheeses were turned out of the molds, salted and matured. During this period, they were turned over a certain number of times.
Only in 1933 was a larger-scale production method developed that took inspiration from this tradition.
The rind is characterized by a thin whitish-gray down that can have pinkish-orange spots and be slightly moist. The ivory-colored paste is relatively dense and shows thin grayish-blue veins.
