UNUSUAL. In Cantal, railway lines transformed into cheese tunnels

Did you know ? Fourmes de Cantal are matured in railway tunnels in Auvergne. Guided tour in an unusual ripening cellar where cheese is the link between heritage and gastronomy.

Everyone knows the adage: one train can hide another. In Murat, in Cantal, the same goes for the railway tunnels. We take you on a discovery of old SNCF tunnels converted into a cheese maturing cellar.

It is a jealously kept secret place, out of time. In a dark tunnel where many cheeses rest, it is no longer a question of train or speed but of slowness and silence. Géraud, manager of a ripening house and Michel, grader, come to visit these cheeses : “There is a taste that is very present. This bodes well for the future,” believes the grader. These cantals have 4 months of ripening. These are the latest to arrive in the tunnel that the Géraud family has been operating since the 1980s. The manager of the family business explains to us why he chose tunnel ripening: “It’s the most traditional and the most qualitative. We are lucky to have the know-how in a very special tunnel. We pass it on from generation to generation and we intend to keep it.

The tunnel is 1km long, with sometimes up to 100m of earth above its vault. The temperature is constant: between 9 and 11 degrees. The air humidity is around 95%. From the 1960s, refiners from Cantal took an interest in these vestiges of the SNCF line between Saint-Flour and Brioude. In 1953, the line was deferred and decommissioned.

Pierre Cassagne’s father, co-owner of a refining tunnel, is one of the last to buy a tunnel on this line which is still owned by the family. As Pierre Cassagne himself explains: “No one wanted this tunnel. The other tunnels had sold out and there was only this one left”. He specifies : “When three refiners bought the last tunnel, it cost them 1,900 francs. At the time, it was still a lot of money. That was in 1969 and it still continues to operate until today. It’s a beautiful story as long as it lasts”.

In Cantal, an old railway tunnel that has become a maturing cellar is still in use and continues to embellish the cheeses: “ This characteristic orange rind of the tunnel stands out well on these cheeses »shows Géraud.

Only the best pieces have the privilege of coming to age in these volcanic stone cocoons, aroma enhancers. Faced with this heritage, Michel, grader, is admiring: “Thank you to those who built it. I think they would be happy to see that the tunnels are still being used and for a good purpose: refining cantals. It is a cheese that really deserves respect. There is a culture around it. If you are not passionate, it is not worth working with Cantal ». Géraud emphasizes the rarity of this type of infrastructure: “Tunnels like these, there are no more. They were made by hand, without all the technicality that we have today. It is a real pride to be able to perpetuate the work that has been done by our elders, here, in the heart of Auvergne”.

At 1000 meters above sea level, nature and man have been shaping excellence for decades.