Morbier
Name of Group of Producers
Valparc Espace Valentin
F-25048 Besancon Cédex
Qualité France SA
Immeuble le Guillaumet 60 avenue du Général de Gaulle 92 046 LA DEFENSE Cedex
Tel: (33 1) 41.97.00.74
Fax: (33 1) 41.97.08.32
Morbier is a cheese made from raw cow's milk. It is pressed, uncooked, has a flat cylindrical shape, smooth faces and slightly rounded sides. Its rind is natural, smooth and homogenous, varying in colour from light grey to beige-orange. The interior is an ivory to pale yellow coloured paste, sometimes with discrete openings. It is supple, glossy and creamy, with a fine texture and a slight creamy flavour. Its most distinctive feature is a horizontal black furrow through the middle. Its weight varies from 5 to 8 kg, its diameter from 30 to 40 cm and its height from 5 to 8 cm. Its fat content (fat/dry matter) is at least 45 % and moisture content in the
fat-free cheese (Fromage dégraissé (HFD)) is not more than 67 %.
The milk is produced and the cheeses are manufactured and matured in the geographical area comprising all the communes in the Doubs and Jura departments (excepting those in the canton of Chemin), 16 communes in the department of Ain and 13 communes in the department of Saône-et-Loire.
The milk used to obtain the Morbier cheese comes exclusively from cows of the Montbéliard or French Simmental breeds. The herds are taken to pasture according to local traditions. The grazing land actually used on the holding must be at least one hectare per dairy cow. The basic feed ration consists of forage coming from the pastures located in the geographical area. The dairy cows are not at any time of the year given any silage products or other fermented fodder, such as fodder preserved in the form of banded bales. Morbier cheese is made exclusively from cow's milk used in the raw state. With the exception of partial skimming, the addition of rennet, lactic starters or salt (sodium chloride), nothing may be removed or added to the milk. After being heated to a temperature not exceeding 40 °C, the cheese is treated with rennet. The curd is cut into grains about one centimetre thick. After the whey is drawn off, the curd is slightly pressed to obtain cakes. Each cake is cut in half. The horizontal central black furrow is obtained exclusively by coating the face of half a cake with charcoal (carbo medicinalis vegetalis) before pressing. Ripening takes place over a minimum period of 45 days from the day of manufacture, at a temperature of between 7 °C and 15 °C. The rind is obtained exclusively by rubbing with salt water, to which lactic starters are sometimes added.
