zenith1 regardless of AOC, chaource is actually one of the easiest cheeses to make. It is very forgiving and can be done in a million different styles. Think of a simple chevre or crottin, now just apply these techniques to cow's milk instead of goats' milk. That's what you get. Super easy and very tasty. So rich that it feels like a triple creme. Of course, I agree with you that you need to use the best possible milk. If you can get local, organic, grass-fed non-homogenized your cheese will rock. Standard supermarket milk will give you mediocre results. Also, don't jump on a milk just because it says "organic". The national brands like Horizon and Organic Valley ultra-pasteurize and homogenize their milk rather violently. It's very poor quality milk and won't produce curd at all as it is totally depleted of these enzymes and the proteins have been modified by the high heat treatment.
Linuxboy Ooops, I may have read it too quickly, it was a TA series and not MM, sorry. TA is thermophilic but I think that at 68F it will just yogurt that milk into something rather tangy, don't you think? Can always use a farmstead culture (mix thermo and meso) but if it's up to me, I would use MM100, maybe give it some extra gas development and buttery feeling with a pinch of MD89