Description
Bleu d’Auvergne PDO Cheese
About Bleu d’Auvergne PDO
Bleu d’Auvergne is one of France’s great blue cheeses. Made from cow’s milk in the mountainous Auvergne region of central France, it combines a wonderfully creamy texture with bold blue-green veining and plenty of savoury, peppery character.
The landscape here is rather special. The Auvergne sits within France’s Massif Central and is shaped by ancient volcanoes, with high pastures that have supported dairy farming and cheesemaking for generations.
But unlike many historic cheeses whose beginnings have become rather lost in time, Bleu d’Auvergne has a surprisingly good origin story — and even better, we know the name of the man behind it.
The Man Who Made Cheese Go Blue
In the 1850s, a young farmer called Antoine Roussel began experimenting with blue mould in his cheese. He discovered that introducing mould from rye bread could encourage the blue character he was looking for, but there was still a problem — the mould needed air to grow properly inside the cheese.
So he began piercing the cheeses, allowing oxygen into the paste and encouraging those beautiful blue veins to develop throughout.
It sounds perfectly logical now because piercing is such a familiar part of blue cheesemaking, but at the time it was an important innovation. Roussel’s experiments helped establish the cheese that became Bleu d’Auvergne and techniques that are still fundamental to the way blue cheeses are made today.
Not bad for a bit of cheesemaking curiosity in the French countryside.
Protected by PDO Tradition
Bleu d’Auvergne received French AOC protection in 1975 and today holds European PDO status, protecting both where it can be made and the methods used to produce it.
Its production remains tied to the Auvergne and surrounding designated area, helping preserve the relationship between the cheese, its milk and the region that created it.
That little PDO logo might not look particularly exciting, but it tells you that Bleu d’Auvergne isn’t simply a style of blue cheese that can be reproduced anywhere. Its name belongs to its home.
Bleu d’Auvergne PDO – Jen’s Tasting Notes
Bleu d’Auvergne manages to be both wonderfully creamy and unmistakably blue. Cut into it and you’ll find a pale ivory paste streaked generously with blue-green veins.
The texture is smooth and creamy, becoming almost meltingly soft once the cheese has had enough time out of the fridge. Then the blue kicks in, bringing saltiness, peppery spice and a lovely earthy, mushroomy character.
I sometimes get something almost damp and woodland-like from the aroma — think of that smell when you walk through the woods after it has rained. Against that earthiness there’s plenty of rich, sweet dairy flavour, which stops the blue becoming too aggressive.
This has more punch than some of our gentler creamy blues, but it isn’t simply about strength. There’s a lovely balance between the salty, spicy blue and that rich creamy paste.
How to Serve and Pair Bleu d’Auvergne
- Make sure you take it out of the fridge a good hour before you want to eat it so it can come up to room temperature.
- Classic pairing: Sweet wine and salty blue cheese is a classic for a reason. Sauternes is wonderful here, with enough sweetness and acidity to balance the richness and peppery blue.
- Something a little different: Try a fruity rosé. It might not be the first thing you think of with blue cheese, but the fresh fruit can work surprisingly well against Bleu d’Auvergne’s salty, creamy character.
- On the plate: Pears, fresh figs or crisp apple are all brilliant. Add some toasted walnuts and perhaps a little honey and you’ve got pretty much everything you need.
- In the kitchen: Melt it into a sauce for steak, stir it through pasta or crumble it over roasted vegetables. It’s also fabulous in a salad with pear and walnuts — one of those combinations that has become a classic because it simply works.
Jen’s note: I love that we actually know who invented Bleu d’Auvergne. Antoine Roussel experimented with mould and worked out that piercing the cheese allowed the blue to develop inside. It’s a brilliant reminder that cheesemaking has always involved a bit of science, a bit of curiosity and probably quite a lot of trial and error.
Buying Bleu d’Auvergne PDO
- Brand or Producer: Fromagerie St Flour
- Product name: Bleu d’Auvergne PDO
- Milk: Cow
- Country: France
- Region: Auvergne
- Strength: Medium to strong
- Vegetarian: No
- Suitable for pregnancy: No
- Allergens: MILK
Sizes and Prices
- 100g wedge, £2.55
- 500g wedge, £12.75
- 1/2 Wheel (approx. 1.2kg), available to pre-order
Storage Advice
- Keep refrigerated
- Wrap in waxed paper or cling film
- Remove from the fridge before serving
- Consume within 10 to 14 days of opening
Delivery and Collection
- UK wide courier delivery
- Click and collect from our Pangbourne shop
- Free local delivery available for selected postcodes
Ingredients (Allergens are listed in capitals)
MILK, starter cultures, rennet, salt, mould cultures
