Morbier

Appearance & taste

Morbier is a flat cylinder 30 to 40 cm in diameter, 5 to 8 cm high and weighing 5 to 8 kg, with a flat top and bottom and a slightly convex side. A horizontal black stripe runs through the middle of the whole cut face, continuous and without a break; it is what makes the cheese recognisable.

The rind is natural and rubbed, even, with a smear and the visible imprint of the cheese mould. It is beige to orange with orange-brown, orange-red or orange-pink shades. The paste is ivory to light yellow and often has scattered holes the size of a currant or small, flat air bubbles. It yields to pressure, is soft and creamy, slightly sticky in the mouth and has a smooth, fine texture. The cheese contains 45 % fat in dry matter.

The specification describes the taste as pronounced and balanced, with hints of milk, caramel, vanilla and fruit. With age, roasted, spicy and vegetal notes are added. The label names the ripening facility the cheese comes from; stating the ripening time is optional.

Production

The milk comes only from cows of the Montbéliarde or Simmental française breeds or from crosses of the two. During the growing season the cows eat pasture grass, in winter hay from the first or second cut, also from the area; in total, about 70 % of the annual feed ration comes from the area. Supplementary feed is limited to 1,800 kg per cow per year, and each farm needs at least 1.3 hectares of pasture per dairy cow. Silage and other fermented feed are banned all year round, as is feed that has to be labelled as genetically modified.

Raw milk with its own milk flora is used; the curd is pressed but not cooked. Before pressing, the surface of one of the curd blocks is coated by hand with vegetable charcoal, which remains visible as a black stripe. The rind is treated with a smear. Wood is used during ripening; the specification links this to the coniferous forests close by. Milking, production and ripening take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area comprises the Jura arc, a range of limestone plateaus, and a small part of the adjoining plain. A large part lies at altitude; the landscape alternates between meadows with a varied lime-loving flora and forests that are half spruce. The climate is continental, with large differences between summer and winter, many days of frost and rainfall spread over the whole year, very high in summer. The specification notes that with climate change, droughts are now possible in all seasons.

The oldest document mentioning Morbier dates from 1799; the cheese was already known in Paris at the time. It was originally made when there was not enough milk for a wheel of Comté. According to one of the theories about its origin, the milk of two milkings was needed for one cheese: the first curd block was coated with soot from under the cauldron to protect it before the curd from the second milking was added. The layer of soot marked the seam. Today the stripe comes exclusively from vegetable charcoal. The shape was suited to production on the mountain farm and was later adopted by the cheese cooperatives (fruitières). Over generations, Jura livestock farmers have selected the Montbéliarde breed, which is adapted to local conditions.