Comté
AOP📍 Burgundy-Franche-Comté · Jura
France's most popular AOP cheese, hard with a fruity flavor.
The cheese
King of French cooked pressed cheeses, AOP Comté is produced in the Jura, Doubs and Ain from raw Montbéliarde cow's milk, fed exclusively on grass and hay (no fermented forage allowed). Each 40 kg wheel concentrates about 450 litres of milk. Natural-cave ageing lasts from 4 months (young Comté) to 36 months and beyond (extra-aged), yielding a broad aromatic range: milk, hazelnut, almond, melted butter, toasted bread crust, nuts, spice, leather and even roasted notes in the oldest. Texture evolves from supple to crystalline with age (tyrosine crystals). Perfect with Vin Jaune, Savagnin or Jura Chardonnay, Comté also melts in franc-comtoise fondue, gratins, soufflés or simply on a cheeseboard.