This week, I continue my adventures with the composition of a cheese at the Maison de la Fourme in Ambert.
When I was told about Ambert, my first thought was, of course, of Fourme. Even though I have to admit that my little favorite is Saint-Nectaire, I leave it aside for an afternoon to discover Ambert’s specialties. In a little street in downtown Ambert, I find this little stone house, the Maison de la Fourme. Émeline Beraud guides me to the cheese-making workshop.
Once inside, I see a bowl full of milk on the table. So far, so good. For someone who doesn’t drink milk, my mouth isn’t yet watering. Émeline approaches a bottle filled with an orange liquid on the table. The only thing I know is that you need milk to make cheese. So that flux in the little plastic bottle doesn’t tell me a thing.
Rennet, you ask? Well done. You can probably recognize it by its pungent smell. It’s true that when I put my nose in that bottle, I quickly come to regret it. My stomach churns. Indeed, this unappetizing liquid actually comes from the calf’s fourth stomach, the abomasum. A family accompanies me for the animation, and each of us has more or less the same reaction. The liquid has to be poured into the milk, once the latter has reached room temperature. I then take my little ladle to pour in the rennet.
