Ami du Chambertin is Gaugry's soft, washed-rind cheese from Burgundy, with a pronounced aroma and a creamy centre. It suits a cheese plate or a warm dish where a modest amount of cheese can supply a strong flavour.
The cheese images are format and serving illustrations, not photographs of a product we have tasted.
In This Article
Where Does Ami du Chambertin Come From?
Raymond Gaugry created Ami du Chambertin in 1950, drawing on the cheesemaking traditions of the women farmers of the Cote d'Or. Its name refers to the wine-growing area around nearby Gevrey-Chambertin, rather than specifying a wine ingredient.
Gaugry describes a tall cheese with a thin, flexible, wrinkled rind that ranges from orange to red. The maker's flavour description distinguishes a powerful outer part from a finer, creamy centre, so the smell alone is an incomplete guide to the bite.
A slice containing both rind and centre lets you experience that contrast. The description does not supply a universal day on which every cheese becomes runny, and a firmer centre is not enough to calculate its age.
The orange rind may bring Epoisses to mind, but Ami du Chambertin is a separate named product. Epoisses has its own protected designation and specification; shared geography and rind colour do not give Ami the same rules.
Is Ami du Chambertin Vegetarian or Pasteurized?
The specific 200 g thermized-milk version listed by French retailer Courses U contains cow's milk, animal rennet and Marc de Bourgogne, alongside salt, cultures and calcium chloride. That ingredient list answers two questions that the cheese's name and appearance cannot.
Animal rennet makes that listed product unsuitable for someone avoiding animal-derived rennet. Cow's milk identifies the dairy ingredient; it does not by itself determine vegetarian suitability.
Likewise, a label stating thermized milk does not establish that the cheese is pasteurized. Someone who specifically needs a pasteurized product should not treat the two descriptions as interchangeable.
The retailer's list also supports a Marc de Bourgogne ingredient for that version, whereas the place name Chambertin alone would not. For an imported or differently labelled pack, its own ingredients remain the relevant evidence.
Older raw- and pasteurized-milk descriptions circulate online, so a general profile cannot guarantee which version a shop currently stocks. The maker, milk-treatment wording and ingredient list should be read together when choosing a particular box.
How to Serve It or Cook With It
Gaugry suggests serving Ami du Chambertin warm with salad and a red wine such as Gevrey-Chambertin. On a cheese plate, bread gives the soft cheese somewhere to spread, while a small portion leaves room to judge its intensity before adding more.
Two recipes published by Gaugry show how differently the cheese can be used in cooking. Their quantities describe those complete dishes, not a universal cheese-to-food ratio.
| Dish | Cheese quantity | How the cheese enters the dish |
|---|---|---|
| La Cabotte risotto with snails and girolles, four portions | 30 g | Added off the heat after the rice cooks |
| Gaugry's sauce for an egg dish with mushroom toast | 100 g | Added to a reduced stock-and-cream base, then blended and strained |
The risotto uses only 7.5 g per portion, calculated from the published 30 g for four. That example shows why treating Ami as a seasoning can be more useful than covering a dish with a thick layer.
The sauce starts with 500 ml each of chicken stock and cream, as well as wine, shallot and butter. Its liquid base and blending step matter: the recipe does not promise that heating a piece of cheese alone produces the same pourable sauce.
These are documented cooking examples, not recipes tested by KnowTheCheese. A wooden presentation box also does not establish oven suitability; warming requires a suitable dish and an appropriate recipe or pack instruction.
How Should You Store Ami du Chambertin?
Keep Ami du Chambertin refrigerated at 4 C / 40 F or below and follow the package date and any after-opening directions. A strong washed-rind aroma does not prove either spoilage or safe storage, so smell cannot replace the handling history.
For pregnancy in the United States, CDC guidance lists soft cheese made from raw milk as a riskier choice. For pasteurized soft cheese, its listed heating condition is an internal temperature of 165 F / 74 C or until steaming hot.
The thermized version described above should not be assumed to meet the pasteurized condition. If that condition cannot be confirmed on the product, choose a clearly labelled alternative that fits the pregnancy advice for your country.
Adding cheese off the heat to risotto, or serving it pleasantly warm, does not demonstrate that it reached the safety condition. Culinary softness and a verified heating step answer different questions.
