Bleu de Gex Haut-Jura

Appearance & taste

The wheel is round and flat, with a clearly rounded transition between the faces and the side; it measures 31 to 35 cm in diameter and weighs 6 to 9 kg. The rounded edges come from the vats in which it is salted. The rind is fine, dry, whitish to yellowish and slightly floury, possibly with small reddish to brownish spots and marks of the cheese cloth. The word “Gex” is embossed into every wheel during production.

The paste is soft, white to ivory, has small holes and is veined with pale blue-green mould. On the cut surface, blue mould, yellowish areas softened by protein breakdown and sometimes white, chalky areas are evenly distributed; traces of the piercing needles may be visible. According to the specification, the balance of these three areas is a fundamental characteristic of the cheese. It contains at least 50 % fat in dry matter.

Production

The milk comes from cows of the Montbéliarde and Simmental française breeds or from crosses of the two. Their basic ration consists of grass from meadows in the area; supplementary feed is limited to 1,800 kg per cow per year, and at least one hectare of grassland must be farmed per cow. The cows go out to pasture after the snow melts, as soon as the ground allows. Year-round indoor feeding, fermented feed and genetically modified feed are prohibited.

Because of the altitude, the raw milk often reaches the dairy at less than 30 °C, so the curd does not hold together well. It is therefore stirred in the vat long enough for the curd grains to stick together slightly in the mould, and then filled into moulds by hand; a cheese cloth helps to drain the whey. As the cheese is not pressed, a salt bath lasting several days draws out the remaining whey. Piercing lets air into the wheel so that the blue mould develops. The cheese ripens on spruce boards in cellars that are dry because of the limestone subsoil, and is turned regularly. Milk production, cheesemaking and ripening take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area is the Haut-Jura, an upland area between 800 and 1,200 m of limestone and marl. It rains a lot, snow often lies for several months, and temperatures are low. The area is heavily wooded with spruce; feed comes mainly from natural meadows, which in most municipalities make up the entire agricultural area. According to the specification, no fewer than 70 plant species grow on the hay meadows and pastures, which are farmed with little intensity.

Blue cheese has long been made in the Jura; administrative records attest it in the mountain chalets since at least the end of the 18th century. It was sold as “Gex”, “Septmoncel” or “fromage bleu du Haut-Jura”. The court of Nantua recognised the designation of origin as early as July 1935.