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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from France, Auvergne

Saint-Nectaire

Cow milk is set with rennet at 30–34 °C, cut small and pressed in cloth-lined moulds, then salted. Farms use raw milk straight after milking and press for at least 8 hours. The young cheeses are washed at least twice in the cave and then rubbed and turned weekly for at least 28 days, until a grey, white and brown mould crust covers them. Made in 7 steps over 31 days – 38 days. The longest step, wash, rub and ripen in the cave, takes at least 28 days (INAO 2016) and runs at 6–14 °C (INAO 2016). Streptococcus thermophilus; wild strains occur in milk from the area, and producers mostly use commercial starters and Brevibacterium aurantiacum, abundant on the rind of every Saint-Nectaire tested do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 28 daysSet[inao-cdc]Wash, rub and ripen in the cave
Temperature6–14 °CSet[inao-cdc]Wash, rub and ripen in the cave
AciditypH 5–5.5Set[inao-cdc]Salt

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes ingredients and steps but gives no amounts.
Cow milk · Farm: raw, whole, used as soon as milking ends. Dairy: raw or pasteurised, may be standardised in fat[inao-cdc]
Rennet · The only coagulant allowed[inao-cdc]
Cultures of bacteria, yeasts and moulds · Harmless cultures are allowed[inao-cdc]
Salt · Brine or dry salt[inao-cdc]
Water · Dairy cheese only, to replace part of the whey[inao-cdc]
Starter: lactic cultures (commercial starters are common; wild Streptococcus thermophilus occurs in the area's milk)

Total time across the recorded steps: 31 days – 38 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
up to 40 °C

What changes: Starting material: cow milk, used warm on farms straight after milking

Step 1 of 7
Bring in the milk
Time
up to 2 days
Set
Temperature
up to 40 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
S. thermophilus
B. aurantiacum
Mucor
Yeasts
Brevibacterium build

Output: cheese milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

raw-milk flora in farm cheese

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Saint-Nectaire is pressed but not cooked, and farm cheese is made from raw milk while it is still warm from milking, then pressed for at least 8 hours. Farms traditionally sell the cheeses white to specialist affineurs, who wash them at least twice and then rub them weekly in damp caves. The rind is a dry crust of grey, white and brown moulds, with 'cat-hair' Mucor not found on the other French washed or bloomy cheeses in one survey.

Milk
Raw cow milk on farms; raw or pasteurised milk in dairies
Ripening
At least 28 days after entering the cave; 21 days for the small format
Size
20–24 cm across, 3.5–5.5 cm high, 1.450–1.950 kg; small format 12–14 cm, 0.500–0.700 kg; fat at least 45 g per 100 g dry matter

Related ferments

Variants

  • Saint-Nectaire fermierRaw milk used straight after milking; coagulation 25–45 min; pressed at least 8 h at 20–25 °C.
  • Saint-Nectaire laitierRaw or pasteurised milk; part of the whey may be replaced with water; pressed at least 1 h.
  • Petit format12–14 cm across, 0.500–0.700 kg, ripened at least 21 days.

Safety

Farm Saint-Nectaire is made from raw milk.

Hazards the sources name: Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin, isolated from Saint-Nectaire cheese.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The specification records the name in the 17th century and recognition as an appellation by a court at Issoire in 1955.

  1. [inao-cdc] INAO, Cahier des charges de l'AOP « Saint-Nectaire », amended text approved by the national committee on 20 July 2016, in the file of the standing committee session of 26 January 2017 (2017-CP104)spec
  2. [grizon2023] Grizon A., Theil S., Callon C., Gerber P., Helinck S., Dugat-Bony E., Bonnarme P., Chassard C. 2023, Genetic and technological diversity of Streptococcus thermophilus isolated from the Saint-Nectaire PDO cheese-producing area, Frontiers in Microbiology 14:1245510, doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1245510paper
  3. [dugatbony2016] Dugat-Bony E., Garnier L., Denonfoux J., Ferreira S., Sarthou A.S., Bonnarme P., Irlinger F. 2016, Highlighting the microbial diversity of 12 French cheese varieties, International Journal of Food Microbiology 238:265–273, doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2016.09.026 (accepted manuscript)paper
  4. [cadelsix2019] Cadel-Six S., Vignaud M.L., Mohammed M. 2019, Draft genome sequences of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Dublin strains from St. Nectaire and Morbier cheeses, Microbiology Resource Announcements 8(1):e01361-18, doi:10.1128/MRA.01361-18paper