Salers (french: Le Salers) is a French semi-hard cheese originating from

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 ...

, in the volcanic region of the

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 ...

mountains of the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,0 ...

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 ...

, central France. It is a pressed, uncooked cheese, sometimes made from

cow's milk (it's then called "Tradition Salers"), between 15 April and 15 November. It is circular in shape, formed in rounds weighing around . The cheese is aged in caves at temperatures ranging from 6–12 °C (43–54 °F) for a minimum of 3 months, and up to 45 months. Salers de Buron Traditional is only made in stone huts (called ''burons'' in the Auvergne) in the summer months with milk exclusively from the Salers cow. It must also be made in the traditional wooden ''gerle''. It is best eaten between September and March, after an ageing time of nine months, but it is also excellent all year round.

History

Salers has been produced since ancient times. It is estimated to have been produced in this region for at least 2,000 years. Salers came to prominence when the Maréchal de Senneterre 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 Cantal. Salers has benefited from the

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 ...

(AOC) since 1961. Traditional Salers producers are becoming increasingly rare, with fewer than 100 farmhouse producers remaining today. 1,112 tonnes were produced in 1998 (+15.1% since 1996); all was made in local farms from unpasteurized milk.

Similar to Cantal

Salers is similar to

Cantal cheese Cantal cheese is an uncooked firm cheese produced in the Auvergne region of central France: more particularly in the ''département'' of Cantal (named after the Cantal mountains) as well as in certain adjoining districts. Cantal cheese was gran ...

, which is produced from the same cows' milk when they are fed on hay during the remaining months of the year.

References

External links

* {{French cheeses French cheeses Occitan cheeses Cantal Cow's-milk cheeses Massif Central Auvergne

History

Similar to Cantal

See also

References

External links