Division Human factors

In the centre and the north of the Jura mountains the importance of grazing has shaped the regional economy based essentially on livestock rearing and above all on dairy production.

The oldest document referring to ‘Morbier’ dates from 1799. The cheese was already known in Paris at that time, which indicates that its origin was older.

Originally it was produced at a time when the level of milk was low and in particular insufficient for the production of a wheel of ‘Comté’. The production of ‘Morbier’ and ‘Comté’ are closely linked.

There are currently several theories about the origin of the making of ‘Morbier’. According to one theory, ‘Morbier’ was made out of necessity, on the farms, in order to use two successive milkings to produce a cheese of 8 to 10 kilograms. The first curd loaf was coated with soot taken from under the cauldron in order to provide protection against external contamination and avoid superficial alteration before being put together with the curds of the following batch. The residual layer marked the join between the two batches.

The application of carbon by hand presupposes an exact balance between coating curds which were too dry and coating curds which were too moist. Maintaining a stage performed by hand guarantees that cheesemakers’ know-how in relation to ‘Morbier’ is maintained, as well as respect for tradition.

The livestock rearers in the Jura mountains have over the generations opted for a breed of cow, the ‘Montbéliarde’, which is particularly suited to the local natural conditions and whose milk is well-suited to the regional cheesemaking technologies. Secondarily, they have also opted for the ‘Simmental’, which is less prevalent.