Fourme de Laguiole Fermière
Laguiole is an uncooked pressed cow’s milk cheese with a dry rind. It is only produced with whole, raw milk from the herds of French Aubrac or Simmental cows. It has the shape of a large cylinder with a 30-40 cm diameter. It weighs 20 to 50 kg and it is left to ripen in a cold and humid cellar. Its production includes 4 main steps: the milk is first coagulated, i.e. heated in the processing vats with the addition of natural rennet. The curd is then cut, manually drained with the help of linen cloths and finally left to ripen. At this point, the curd has become tome fraîche de l’Aubrac. Now the cheese is salted and shaped by hand, then pressed, turned and left to dry for 48 hours. it takes 500 liters of milk to make one 50 kg cheese.
The production of Laguiole cheese dates back to ancient times, according to Pliny the Elder, and is intimately linked to the geography of the Plateau de l’Aubrac, the local plant species, the ancient practice of summer mountain grazing and the Aubrac cattle breed, the architecture of the Alpine huts (buron) and to many traditional dishes, such as aligot and truffade.
In the 12th century, the monks of the Order of Aubrac changed the landscape, turning lands and forests into summer pastures. They selected the cattle breed which would become the Aubrac, started to produce Laguiole cheese and invented aligot, made with the first curd of Laguiole. Historically, Laguiole is meant to be preserved for a long period of time; it was made in the summer on the rich pastures of the plateau and then eaten throughout the year. Even if the monks left after the revolution in the 18th and 19th century, the ancestral practice of the transhumance and summer mountain grazing was kept. The mountain huts allow cheesemakers to milk their cows and make the Laguiole. Each summer, the dairy farmers go to the mountains with their animals and live for a few months among the pastures full of different plant species, which give their aromas to the cheese.
CDO since December 21 1961 and PDO since 2001, Laguiole is only made by the Coopérative Jeune Montagne (created in 1960 at the initiative of André Valadier), using the milk from 75 farmers. In addition to the 700 tons produced every year, only 3 producers make the so-called farmhouse Laguiole (no more than 20 tons per year in total). The production area of Laguiole is limited to 60 municipalities in Aubrac, in three different departments: Aveyron, Cantal e Lozère.
The farmhouse production has been encouraged by the Coopérative Jeune Montagne to obtain different and more distinctive cheeses, focusing particularly on the following aspects: use of the milk form one herd only, raised outdoors (or indoors in case of bad weather conditions), with no mixing of milk from different herds; the quick processing time (the morning milk is used, with a small addition of milk from the previous night), while Jeune Montagne uses the collected milk 24 hours later; the ripening in a traditional cellar dug in the Roc.
The Aubrac breed, also a product on the Ark of Taste, was a mixed breed known especially as draught animals. With the green revolution and the introduction of tractors, the Aubrac breed is now threatened, which is a problem for a plateau that lives off animal farming. The effort by André Valadier and Jeune Montagne is therefore that of promoting historical cheese production, improving its quality over the years: no use of silage, for instance, as this influences on the cheese quality.
Even if, on the whole, Laguiole does not seem threatened thanks to the good work by the Coopérative Jeune Montagne, the exquisitely farmhouse production must be safeguarded. Only three farmers-producers are left and their century old know-how (in animal farming and cheesemaking) risks to disappear in a global agricultural context focused on specialization.
Laguiole is a cow’s milk, uncooked pressed cheese with a dry rind. It is only produced with whole, raw milk from the herds of French Aubrac or Simmental cows. It has the shape of a large cylinder with a 30-40 cm diameter. It weighs 20 to 50 kg and it is left to ripen in a cold and humid cellar. Its production includes 4 main steps: the milk is first coagulated, i.e. heated in the processing vats with the addition of natural rennet. The curd is then cut, manually drained with the help of linen cloths and finally left to ripen. At this point, the curd has become tome fraîche de l’Aubrac. Now the cheese is salted and shaped by hand, then pressed, turned and left to dry for 48 hours. it takes 500 liters of milk to make one 50 kg cheese.
The production of Laguiole cheese dates back to ancient times, according to Pliny the Elder, and is intimately linked to the geography of the Plateau de l’Aubrac, the local plant species, the ancient practice of summer mountain grazing and the Aubrac cattle breed, the architecture of the Alpine huts (the ""buron"") and to many traditional dishes, such as aligot and truffade.
In the 12th century, the monks of the Order of Aubrac changed the landscape, turning lands and forests into summer pastures. They selected the cattle breed which would become the Aubrac, started to produce Laguiole cheese and invented aligot, made with the first curd of Laguiole. Historically, Laguiole is meant to be preserved for a long period of time; it was made in the summer on the rich pastures of the plateau and then eaten throughout the year. Even if the monks left after the revolution in the 18th and 19th century, the ancestral practice of the transhumance and summer mountain grazing was kept. The mountain huts allow cheesemakers to milk their cows and make the Laguiole. Each summer, the dairy farmers go to the mountains with their animals and live for a few months among the pastures full of different plant species, which give their aromas to the cheese.
CDO since December 21 1961 and PDO since 2001, Laguiole is only made by the Coopérative Jeune Montagne (created in 1960 at the initiative of André Valadier), using the milk from 75 farmers. In addition to the 700 tons produced every year, only 3 producers make the so-called farmhouse Laguiole (no more than 20 tons per year in total). The production area of Laguiole is limited to 60 municipalities in Aubrac, in three different departments: Aveyron, Cantal e Lozère.
The farmhouse production has been encouraged by the Coopérative Jeune Montagne to obtain different and more distinctive cheeses, focusing particularly on the following aspects: use of the milk form one herd only, raised outdoors (or indoors in case of bad weather conditions), with no mixing of milk from different herds; the quick processing time (the morning milk is used, with a small addition of milk from the previous night), while Jeune Montagne uses the collected milk 24 hours later; the ripening in a traditional cellar dug in the Roc.
The Aubrac breed, also a product on the Ark of Taste, was a mixed breed known especially as draught animals. With the green revolution and the introduction of tractors, the Aubrac breed is now threatened, which is a problem for a plateau that lives off animal farming. The effort by André Valadier and Jeune Montagne is therefore that of promoting historical cheese production, improving its quality over the years: no use of silage, for instance, as this influences on the cheese quality.
Even if, on the whole, Laguiole does not seem threatened thanks to the good work by the Coopérative Jeune Montagne, the exquisite farmhouse production must be safeguarded. Only three farmer-producers are left and the centuries-old knowledge that they maintain (in animal farming and cheesemaking) could disappear in a global agricultural context focused on specialization.
Image: © François Maynier
Back to the archive >La fabrication du Laguiole remonte à la plus haute Antiquité selon Pline l'Ancien et est intimement liée à la géographie du Plateau de l'Aubrac, aux espèces végétales locales, à la pratique ancestrale de l'estive, à la race bovine Aubrac, à l'architecture des burons et à plusieurs spécialités culinaires, dont l'aligot et la truffade.
Au XIIème siècle, les Moines de la dômerie d'Aubrac modifient le paysage en transformant landes et forêts en pâturages d'estive, sélectionnent la race bovine qui deviendra l'Aubrac, fabriquent le fromage de Laguiole et inventent l'aligot - fabriqué à partir du premier caillé du Laguiole. Historiquement, le Laguiole est un fromage de garde fabriqué durant l'été au milieu des riches pâturages du plateau et à consommer tout au long de l'année. Malgré le départ des Moines suite à la révolution au XVIII et XIXème siècle, la pratique ancestrale de la transhumance et de l'estive sont conservées. Les burons permettent de pratiquer la traite et de fabriquer le fromage de Laguiole, et chaque printemps, ceux qu'on appelait les buronniers, montent avec les bêtes et vivent quelques mois dans ces pâtures très riches d'espèces végétales qui confèrent leurs arômes au Laguiole.
AOC depuis le 21 décembre 1961 et AOP depuis 2001, le Laguiole est exclusivement transformé par la Coopérative Jeune Montagne (créée en 1960 à l'initiative d'André Valadier) grâce au lait de 75 éleveurs. A côté des 700 tonnes par an ainsi produites, on note seulement 3 producteurs de Laguiole fermier dont la production totale n'excède pas les 20 tonnes. Le terroir de production du Laguiole est limité à 60 communes de l'Aubrac à cheval sur trois départements : l'Aveyron, le Cantal et la Lozère.
La production fermière a été encouragée par la Coopérative Jeune Montagne pour obtenir des fromages différents et plus typés notamment sur les points suivants : la mise en oeuvre du lait d'un seul troupeau de vaches toutes à l'extérieur (ou à l'intérieur selon les conditions climatiques) sans mélanges de laits, la rapidité de mise en oeuvre (fabrication à partir de la traite du matin et d'une petite partie de la traite du soir) alors que Jeune Montagne met en oeuvre le lait collecté 24 heures plus tard, l'affinage dans une cave traditionnelle creusée dans le Roc.
La race Aubrac, également sur l’Arche du Goût, était une race mixte mais surtout connue pour la traction animale; avec la Révolution verte et l'arrivée des tracteurs, l'Aubrac se trouve menacé car le plateau vit de cette économie de l'élevage. Toute l'intelligence d'André Valadier avec Jeune Montagne a alors été de cibler sur la production historique fromagère, améliorant au fil des années les exigences de qualité : suppression de l'ensilage, par exemple, après avoir constaté l'impact que cela avait sur le fromage.
Si le Laguiole dans son ensemble ne paraît pas être menacé de disparition grâce au très bon travail fait par la Coopérative Jeune Montagne, la partie fermière de sa production est à défendre. Ils ne sont que trois éléveurs-producteurs, et il s'agit là d'un savoir-faire séculaire (élever et transformer) qui est menacé de disparition dans un contexte agricole global qui pousse à la spécialisation.
Foto: © François Maynier
