Most famous French cheeses

France is synonymous with cheeses. Each region of the country has its particular cheese or cheeses, and there are about 240 cheeses that can be broadly classified into three families: pressed, soft and blue.

You also have to think about what they do with three types of milk, cow, goat or sheep. They are in turn divided into industrial cheeses y farm cheeses and going further, there are also traditional cheeses with "Appellation of origin". In this group there are 40 cheeses, more or less. let's see then most famous French cheeses.

pressed cheeses

these cheeses they are made with cow's milk and a part are those that denomination generally "hard cheeses". all these cheeses they come in large units that later the merchant cuts into slices or slices or slices. There are also two types, the “cooked” cheeses, which are heated in their production process, and “no cook” cheeses. The former generally last longer.

An example of cheese without cooking is cantal cheese which is produced in the Auvergne mountains. It looks like English cheddar and has denomination of origin (protected designation of origin). In general, this cheese is made on farms, but the same farms also produce larger quantities. The Cantal comes in two varieties, the young and the "between two", when it matures much longer, thus achieving a more intense flavor.

Another French pressed cheese is Comté, similar to the Swiss Gruyère. It is a cheese with designation of origin from the Comté region of eastern France, on the border with Switzerland, with milk that comes from cows that graze at 400 meters of altitude. Comté is a cooked cheese, collectively produced village by village, with a method that has changed little over the centuries.

Comté is a cheese with large holes or without holes and also there are varieties, fruity or salty. The most expensive Comté is the oldest, for more than six months. It is a traditional cheese that used in fondue and raclette. A fact: the cheeses that are produced with milk from cows that do not follow the Comté rules are used to make French Gruyère. Other similar cheeses are Beaufort and Abondance.

Continuing with the pressed cheeses are the Emmental, with holes, occurring in many places in France, but mainly in the east. Is a more industrial cheese, although it has IGP (Protected Geographical Indication). The mimolette cheese It is a round cheese that is made in the north, in Lille. It is orange in color as it has a natural dye. It is the French variant of the Dutch Edam cheese.

El tome cheese you are a semi-cooked cheese it is produced in the Pyrenees and has a black skin. It is a fairly soft cheese with a mild flavor. It does not have a denomination of origin, but it does have IGP. Another cheese, my favorite, is Reblochon, an exquisite soft cheese that It is made in the Alps, with an intense flavor and creamy texture.

soft cheeses

There are hundreds of French soft cheeses and each region has its specialties. many have a denomination of origin and they are made in small units, but there are exceptions and you can buy the whole big cheese. For example, Brie cheese.

There are two varieties of Brie cheese, the Brie de Meaux and the Brie de Melun. They are named for the cities that are not far from Paris. brie cheese it is a thin round cheese and with a smooth white cover. The cover is eaten, not removed, and is mild in flavor.

Camembert cheese is made in Normandy and is one of the most famous in the country and the world. A serving of Camembert can be smooth on the outside and intense, without falling apart. A young cheese can be hard and dry with little flavor, and an aged Camembert is more yellow on the outside. It is sold everywhere, although without denomination of origin it cannot be called Camembert.

Epoisses cheese is a soft cheese from the Burgundy region. It is thinner than Camembert yellow outside and white inside. The center is almost crispy and the cheese under the skin is soft. It has a distinctive flavor, similar to Langres cheese, and both go hand in hand with red wine.

Gaperon cheese is a semi-soft cheese from Auvergne, flavored with pepper and garlic, hemispherical in shape. Mont d'Or cheese It is from the Franche Comté region, on the border with Switzerland, at more than 800 meters of altitude. Yes, the same region as Comté cheese. It is made with a centuries-old traditional method, in wooden boxes. It is a seasonal cheese and it is not made in summer, although modern ways of storing it make it available year-round.

Munster cheese is a soft cheese that is made in the Voges mountains of eastern France, in the Lorraine region. It is super strong and there are two types, the normal and the wow, with cumin seeds. It is a dark cheese on the outside, with a thin cover that can be eaten or removed at the time of eating. With cover it is strong, but also without cover.

Pont l'Evêque cheese is a soft creamy cheese without cooking and without pressing which is done in the coastal region of Normandy. It is one of the oldest cheeses in France and there are documents that it was already done in the XII century. El Saint Nectaire cheese It is one of the greatest French cheeses and it is superb. It is made in the mountains Auvergne and there are two types: farm and everyday.

Farm cheese is better and more expensive and the latter is usually sold in supermarkets, being sold too young. When it is young it is drier and harder, so the longer it is allowed to mature the softer and more elastic it gets. A similar cheese is Savaron.

Blue cheeses

Within this group there are exquisite cheeses. The Blue Auvergne It is a cheese with denomination of origin whose quality and flavor vary considerably. is the Blue de Laqueille, the modern Bleu d'Auvergne which is from Saint Agur, creamy, made in the Velay hills.

Bleu de Bresse is the French version of Danish blue cheese., smooth, almost spreadable. The Causses blue It has denomination of origin and is of strong flavor. It is made with cow's milk from the same area as Roquefort and has a similar flavor. The Gex blue It comes from the border with Switzerland, furo and with a milder flavor. The cheese Fourme d'Ambert It is a mild blue cheese made in Auvergne, with a slightly nutty flavour.

And finally, Roquefort, the most famous of all French cheeses. It has denomination of origin and It is made with milk from a single variety of sheep, the Lacaune. It's getting done from the Middle Ages and it has a lot of marketing. Some are produced 18 thousand tons per year and exported to all over the world. Made in the south of France, in the department of Aveyron, and it matures in caves. In the past, a lot of milk was used that was brought especially to the region, but its success has made it invest in raising its own sheep.

Finally, there is another type of cheese, goat cheeses such as Crottin de Chavignol and many others that are produced by farmers across the country. There's also sheep's milk cheeses, from the French Basque country. And we can name the Port Salut cheese, the Raclette, the Roulade, the Boursin… Have you tried many famous French cheeses?


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