Blue as the Queyras sky

Typical of the northern Hautes-Alpes region, Bleu du Queyras is working towards its PDO status. With a blue-speckled paste, its softness, mellowness and creaminess are unlike any other, according to Alexandre Lagier, president of the Bleu du Queyras interprofessional association and breeder of 53 Tarine cows (GAEC de la petite Tarine – Saint André d’Embrun (05)).

Farming organically since 1998, with a system based on self-sufficiency in feed, this enthusiast delivers his 200,000-liter milk production to Fromagerie Château de Queyras. His ambition? To produce around 350 tonnes of cheese within 2 years (compared with 40 tonnes 7 years ago), and to obtain the PDO label.

With the ambition of selling locally and, why not, internationally, the project aims to enhance the value of milk produced in the north of the département through short distribution channels, and to showcase this historic local cheese. The specifications for this 1kg800 cylindrical cheese include only milk from Montbéliard, Abondance or Tarine cows.

"Our cheese dairies sell other products, but Bleu de Queyras will enable us to fully promote our region, showcase our know-how and attract consumers to us. Tarine milk, with its excellent fat content, is perfectly suited to the requirements of the Bleu du Queyras recipe. We aim for profitability and autonomy for our partner breeders, and our specifications (no silage, no wrapping, animals that must be turned out in summer, etc.) have been determined to fully correspond to the size of our farms, the way they operate, and respect for animal welfare... Even if we still have a long way to go, we're impatient to see our project come to fruition, so that the commitment of our breeders, the know-how of our cheese dairies and, of course, the fantastic taste of our Bleu du Queyras can be even more widely recognized! "

Alexandre LAGIER