Morbier

Morbier (more-bee-AY) is a semi-soft, aromatic and surprisingly mild French cow's milk AOC cheese defined by the dark vein of vegetable ash streaking through it's middle. Today, the ash is purely decorative, a nod to the method by which Morbier was once produced in the small village of Morbier in Franche-Comté in eastern France. It has a rind that is yellowish, moist, and leathery.

Way back when the Franche-Comte cheesemakers were concentrating on producing Gruyere de Comte, they often had leftover curds at the end of their day. However, they didn't have enough to make a full Gruyere de Comte, so the cheesemakers would make a smaller cheese. After smooshing the leftover curds into a mold, they would blacken their hands by rubbing them on the exterior of the copper pot used for cooking cheese curd. The resulting ash was smeared on top of the evening curd to keep it from drying out over night. The next day, there would be more excess curd from the morning cheesemaking session and that would be laid on top of the ash.

The Jura and Doubs versions both benefit from an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC), though other non-AOC Morbier exist on the market. So do not confuse this cheese with the American Mobay cheese, a Wisconsin developed cheese not made of cow’s milk. Instead Mobay is a semi-soft cheese made of a layer of goat’s milk, and one of sheep’s milk. In appearance it is similar to Morbier, with ash separating the two layers. The taste, however, is markedly different, since goat and sheep’s milk are significantly different in flavor and tend to produce sharper cheeses.

Morbier, which is aged for at least 60 days up to four months, pleasantly confounds expectations. Contrary to its smell, Morbier has a mild sweet buttery taste and leaves a wonderful, nutty aftertaste. Morbier is excellent served with Gewurztraminer or Pinor Noir.