Saturday, 25 Sept - Orcival, Murol, Vallee de Chaudefour, Farges

On Saturday the school sponsored a trip in the country for the international students.  We have been on this trip before, but not with fellow students.  Fred and I were both able to go.  The first stop was in Orcival, site of a 12th century church, famous for its statue of Mary, which is said to be quite old (older than the church).



Chateau Murol



From Orcival, we went to Murol, where this is a 12th century fortified chateau on a hill overlooking the town.  The chateau is in restoration, and during the summer there is a group of people who dress in period clothing and present shows.  It is always an interesting stop with great views of the countryside from the chateau, but it is a long climb just to get to the gates.

Village of Murol from the chateau

View from the chateau

Upper walls of the chateau

My colleagues

Beekeeping at the chatear

After Murol, we went to lunch at Le Buron in the Vallee de Chaudefour (valley of the hot oven).  This is a small restaurant in a regional park, where hiking is common in summer and skiing  or snowshoeing is common in winter.  At this restaurant we are always served truffade, and traditional potato dish of the region. 

It is potatoes, cheese, and garlic, made in a large frying pan and is wonderful.  It is always served with green salad and slices of air-cured ham also of the region.

After two hours for lunch, we went to Farges, near St Nectaire, where there is a working dairy farm and where St Nectaire cheese is made.  There are also caves where the cheese is aged that are open for tours with historical programs about the history of the place and the making of St Nectaire cheese. 

 St Nectaire cheese can be either Fermier or made on the farm from unpastuerized milk or industrially made from pastuerized milk.  In order to carry the St Nectaire name, the fermier cheese must come from a single herd of cows.  This cheese has been made in this area for hundreds of years.  The original aging was in caves like this on rye straw.  Now much of the cheese is aged on wooden shelves at the farm or at a location specializing in aging.

St Nectaire cheese is aged for about 2 months. During the process, it is turned and the furry mold is brushed off. 

We had not seen this presentation before and it was very interesting.  The farm and cheese fabrication are operated by an association of local people making the special cheese that only is made in this area.  They have 100 dairy cows and make and sell 45 metric tons of cheese per year (about 99,000 lbs), most of which they sell on site to tourists and locals.

Equipment on the dairy farm

 

Cows wear bells



The barn at milking time

The cheese is made twice daily, morning and evening.  The milk is put in a vat with starter culture and rennet.  The milk is heated, but not cooked.  Within 15 to 25 minutes, the milk curdles.  The whey is then drained off, and the curd is put in molds and pressed.  The cheeses are again turned out of their molds, salted, wrapped in cheesecloth and put back in molds and pressed for 24 hours.

  

Making St Nectaire cheese

Flowers on the path to the barn

When we got back to the bus, we met a goup of antique car collectors who where on an outing.  Saw some great cars!



We returned to Clermont about 6 pm and were tired, but had a great day learning about the area.