These are the famous burons, once home to men and animals during the summer grazing season. Planted here centuries ago, they bear witness to a way of life that’s long gone.
Itwas here that fresh tome cheese was produced, and used to make aligot.
Snow and buron in Aubrac.Snow and buron in Aubrac.|
The Burons of Aubrac
Cottages on the vast expanses of AubracAll about
burons of Aubrac
Preparation Aligot Aubrac Exterieur (3) © B. Colomb Lozère Sauvage Pour Pact AubracPreparation Aligot Aubrac à l'Exterieur.|
Aligot recipe from Aubrac.Aligot recipe from Aubrac.|
Buron on Aubrac with herd of Aubrac cows.Buron on Aubrac with herd of Aubrac cows.|
Refining Aubrac tome cheese in a buron.Refining Aubrac tome cheese in a buron.|
DID YOU KNOW?
Often, a pigsty was built near the buron.
Pigs and piglets were brought in during the summer months to be fattened up for the farm’s needs, or to be sold at the end of the summer.
They were fed on whey.
Buron architecture
Most buronsconsisted of three rooms.
The cellar for cheese storage and maturing
Partly buried and always located on the north side, the cellar was used for cheese storage and ripening. It was dark and did not exceed 12°C: essential conditions for good cheese preservation. The floor was covered with rammed earth, and the cheeses were laid out on wooden panels raised by stones.
First floor: cheese dairy and common room
On the first floor, the main room served both as a cheese dairy and as a common room for meals. Sober in appearance, it was poorly lit, with a dirt or stone floor and a fireplace attached to the gable. The room was usually furnished with a dining table with benches and a wooden stove. A wall niche, with or without a door, was used to store foodstuffs and a few bottles, and cold meats were hung in the room on hooks. All the items needed to make cheese were stored here.
Upstairs for hay storage and living space
The first burons were vaulted, but as time went by, timber-framed burons began to be built to store hay for the calves and provide living space for the men, who slept upstairs.
The men of the buron
The buron was inhabited during the estive period, from May 25, the traditional date of transhumance, to October 13.
The men who came to spend the summer on the Aubrac had to be courageous, hard-working and, above all, enjoy life on the plateau.
Each of the men in the buron had a very distinct function.
The Cantalès
The Cantalès is in charge of the buron. He manages the team and the cheese-making process.
The Pastre
The Pastre looks after the herd.
The Bédelier
The Bédelier looks after the calves: he takes them to their mother for milking in the morning and evening, and fetches the cows in the evening to lock them up in the pen.
The Roul
The Roul, the youngest member of the family (from the age of 8!) learns the ropes of the mountain: he helps the Pastre and takes care of the most menial tasks. He cleans the tools, sweeps the buron, fetches water and wood, and assists the Pastre.
Buron - AubracBuron - Aubrac
DID YOU KNOW?
Life was hard on the Aubrac: you had to put up with the isolation, the exhausting heat of the summer day, but also the sudden, violent storms in summer.
- Can you visit a buron?
Burons are privately-owned properties that you can’t enter without the owner’s permission. If you want to see inside a buron, some are now farms or restaurants!
- Is it possible to eat in a buron?
Yes, in Aubrac many burons have been converted into restaurants!
- What kind of stone is used to build the burons?
The walls are made of basalt or granite. The roof is made of schist.
Prepare
