This French cheese is a favourite of the Les Dépendances team. It has been made in small village-based cooperative dairies, or fruitière, for over eight centuries. This system has created a sense of solidarity and pride, and has preserved the traditions and the small-scale production techniques that have helped ensure Comté continues to be one of France's most popular cheeses.
It takes about 530 litres of milk to make just one 35kg Comté wheel, the daily yield of 30 cows. On average, each fruitière has 19 members or local dairy farms located within an eight-mile radius.
The method, and the area in which Comté is made, has not changed for centuries, and is now dfined by AOC regulations as the rugged mountains and wide plateaux of the Massif du Jura, a region which spans the Jura, the Boubs, and the Ain.
It is the richness and diversity of its mountain pastures and markedly different seasons that give Comté its unique flavour along with the two native breeds of cow that must be used: the native Montbéliarde cow, known for its sweet milk, makes up around 95 percent of the herds, the rest are French Simmental cows.
During spring, the meadows, a blaze of colourful flowers, echo with the clanging bells as the cows return from winter in the valleys. During the winter, the cows are fed on a diet of hay but from the summer pastures.
FLAVOUR: The texture is firm and smooth. Each fruitière has its own distinct profile that reflects the soil, climate, and flora where the cows graze - from melted butter, milk chocolate, hazelnuts, and fudge to aromas of toast, plum jam, leather, pepper, and dark chocolate, others can be more reminiscent of butterscotch and hazelnuts and even sweet oranges.
HOW TO SAVOUR: The French enjoy Comté at virtually any time of day. As it melts well, it can be found in numerous French dishes from quiches, soups, and gratins to fondue, sauces, and salads. Its creamy texture and fruity tang marries well with fish and white meat and the local Jura wines or Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, or Viognier.
