SAINT-NECTAIRE - A legendary cheese
For a long time, its consumption was confidential and limited to its country of production. Today, the farmers and refiners of this region of the Monts Dore produce 14,000 tonnes of Saint-Nectaire annually.
The name “Saint-Nectaire cheese” appeared in the heart of the 17th century (around 1650-1670). Long considered a country cheese, consumed by the families of the producers, it arrived in Versailles and was introduced to the table of Louis XIV by Marshal Henri de Sennecterre. It is said that the Sun King made him come on the back of a donkey to the court.
But its origins are certainly older: in the Middle Ages we find traces of a rye cheese or “gleo cheese” (because it is ripened on rye straw) which was used to pay taxes to the lord. It is probably the ancestor of our Saint-Nectaire.
In the first half of the 20th century, production was exclusively farm-based and declined between the 1930s and 1950s (particularly a victim of the rural exodus that affected this region of the Massif Central). “Saint-Nectaire is not even part of the first classification of cheeses undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1934, reports the interprofession. This situation encouraged producers to group together in order to assert their interests. This mobilization led, in November 1935, to the creation of the Syndicate for breeding and improving dairy products in the mountain cantons of Besse and Issoire. The syndicate registered the Saint-Nectaire brand in 1947, and became a Syndicate of Saint-Nectaire Producers in 1954. The cheese finally obtained the controlled designation of origin in 1955. From this date, the production of milk and of cheese increases.
Today, the production of farm and dairy Saint-Nectaire is 14,000 tonnes, which makes it the third French cheese PDO made from cow's milk and the first farm cheese PDO in Europe, according to the union. Although Salers dominates in the region, the specifications of Saint-Nectaire do not impose a particular breed of cow. It suffices that the cows are born and raised on the territory of the 69 communes (Puy-de-Dôme and Cantal) of the appellation.
The secret of Saint-Nectaire lies in two key stages of its production: renneting (after each milking, the renneted milk will coagulate for an hour), and curdling (the curd is stirred to release the serum). The cheese is then moulded, salted and pressed. Refining, which lasts 28 days, is done by the 20 refiners in the sector. There are two Saint-Nectaire: the dairy (made in a dairy with pasteurized milk) and the farmer (made on the farm with raw milk).
A point of history to end: Saint Nectaire is one of the four apostles of Auvergne. Originally from Byzantium, he was baptized in Rome by Saint Peter, who then sent him to evangelize this region of the Dore mountains. He set up a sanctuary on Mount Cornadore where he was buried. The current Romanesque church of Saint-Nectaire (12th century) stands on the site of the original sanctuary.
Saint-Nectaire cheese has its roots deep in history.
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