Curdling Rocamadour is made from whole raw milk. Upon arrival at the processing facility, the milk is inoculated. Within eight hours of the last milking, it is renneted at a concentration of 10cm³ per 100litres of milk. This process takes place at a temperature between 18°C and 23°C. For on-farm production, renneting occurs daily for up to two milkings per day, and no later than six hours after the last milking. Curdling lasts 18 hours, followed by 12 hours of pre-draining. Salting is carried out before moulding by mixing 0.6% to 0.8% salt into the curd. Curd may be frozen to stagger production; however, frozen curd must be blended with at least 50% fresh curd before use in the production process.
Production and ripening The curd is placed in individual moulds or multi-mould trays. The moulds are 60mm in diameter and 16mm in height. At the time of moulding, the dry matter content must be at least 31%. Ripening takes place in two stages: the first step, pre-drying, lasts for 24 hours at a temperature not exceeding 23°C and humidity above 80%. The second stage occurs in a maturing room or cellar, at a temperature below 10°C and humidity above 85%, for at least six days after removal from the moulds.
Packaging Each cheese is labeled with a tag of at least 4cm in diameter bearing the mentions Rocamadour and ''
Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC). Cheeses packaged in batches for final consumers may carry only one label per batch.
Direct sales are permitted, but the seller must display a Rocamadour label on each container and indicate the address of the producer and/or the affineur (cheese ripener). ==See also==