Cantal cheese is an uncooked firm

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...

produced in the

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

region of central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

: more particularly in the ''département'' of

Cantal Cantal (; oc, Cantal or ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians (fren ...

(named after the Cantal mountains) as well as in certain adjoining districts. Cantal cheese was granted

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...

certification in 1956. One of the oldest cheeses in France, Cantal dates back to the times of the

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

s. It came to prominence when Marshal

Henri de La Ferté-Senneterre Henri II de La Ferté-Senneterre (1599 – 27 September 1681) was a marshal of France and governor of Lorraine. Life The son of Henri I de La Ferté-Senneterre, a minister from an old knightly family in the Auvergne, Henri II was destined for ...

served it at the table of

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

. Senneterre is also responsible for the introduction of

Saint-Nectaire Saint-Nectaire is a French cheese made in the Auvergne region of central France. The cheese has been made in Auvergne since at least the 17th century. History Up until the 17th century, the Saint-Nectaire cheese was farmstead, and mostly made ...

and

Salers Salers (, ) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. It is famous for the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify wher ...

Composition

There are two types of Cantal cheese: ''Cantal Fermier'', a farmhouse cheese made from raw milk; and ''Cantal Laitier,'' a commercial, mass-produced version made from

pasteurized Pasteurization American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mi ...

milk. Both have to adhere to the same strict quality controls. The cheese is made only using milk from hay-fed

cows, and is only harvested from November 15 to April 15. The summer milk of the same cows grazing on mountain meadows makes the

Salers cheese Salers (french: Le Salers) is a French semi-hard cheese originating from Salers, in the volcanic region of the Cantal mountains of the Massif Central, Auvergne, central France. It is a pressed, uncooked cheese, sometimes made from Salers cow's ...

. This semi-hard cheese is aged for several months, and is shaped into a cylinder. The cylinders are massive in size and the cheese has a soft interior. Its flavor is somewhat reminiscent of

Cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and t ...

, with a strong, tangy butter taste that grows with age. A well ripened Cantal has a vigorous nutty and tangy taste, while a young cheese has a hint of sweet and buttery taste of raw milk. The pitted appearance of the crust of ''Cantal vieux'' is a result of the activity of cheese mites. According to the time of aging, three varieties are distinguished: *''Cantal jeune'' (aged 1–2 months) *''Cantal entre-deux'' or ''Cantal doré'' (aged 3–9 months) *''Cantal vieux'' (aged more than 8 months). These are all available as ''fermier'' and ''laitier''. Most (>80% of production) Cantal is of the first two varieties. ''Cantal vieux'' is already a hard cheese. If kept properly, it can last up to a year and a half without spoiling. It is not produced in large quantities. Much loved in the Cantal region, ''Cantal vieux'' is quite rarely exported due to its strong taste and can usually be found only in specialist stores. Cantal cheese has a fat content of 45%. It is used in

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling soli ...

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

aligot Aligot ( oc, Aligòt) is a dish made from cheese blended into mashed potatoes (often with some garlic) that is made in L'Aubrac (Aveyron, Cantal, Lozère, Occitanie) region in the southern Massif Central of France. This fondue-like dish from th ...

potatoes, cheese fondue and

gratin Gratin () is a culinary technique in which an ingredient is topped with a browned crust, often using breadcrumbs, grated cheese, egg or butter.Courtine, Robert J. (ed.) (2003) ''The Concise Larousse Gastronomique'' London: Hamlyn The term ma ...

s. ''Cantal Fermier'', like all cheeses made from raw milk, may contain ''

Listeria ''Listeria'' is a genus of bacteria that acts as an intracellular parasite in mammals. Until 1992, 17 species were known, each containing two subspecies. By 2020, 21 species had been identified. The genus is named in honour of the British pio ...

'' bacteria on the crust, which should therefore be discarded; it is also not suitable for children, the elderly, or

immunocompromised Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromisation, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that a ...

persons.

References

{{French cheeses French cheeses Occitan cheeses Cuisine of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cantal French products with protected designation of origin Cow's-milk cheeses Cheeses with designation of origin protected in the European Union Massif Central

Composition

See also

References