Comté () is a French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk in the

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

region of eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

bordering

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and sharing much of its cuisine. Comté has the highest production of all French

Appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

(AOC) cheeses, at around annually. It is classified as an Alpine cheese. The cheese is made in discs, each between in diameter, and around in height. Each disc weighs up to with a fat in dry matter (FDM) content around 45%. The rind is usually a dusty-brown colour, and the internal paste, pâte, is a pale creamy yellow. The texture is relatively hard and flexible, and the taste is mild and slightly sweet.

Production

Fresh from the farm, milk is poured into large copper vats where it is gently warmed. Each cheese requires up to of milk.

Rennet Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease, protease enzyme that curdling, curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, su ...

is added, causing the milk to coagulate (curdle). The

curd Curd is obtained by Denaturation (biochemistry), coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet, a Kefir cheese, ...

s are then cut into tiny white grains that are the size of rice or wheat which are then stirred before being heated again for around 30 minutes. The contents are then placed into moulds and the

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard c ...

is pressed out. After several hours the mould is opened and left to mature in cellars, first for a few weeks at the dairy, and then over several months elsewhere. The manufacture of Comté has been controlled by AOC regulations since it became one of the first cheeses to receive AOC recognition in 1958, with full regulations introduced in 1976. The AOC regulations for Comté prescribe: * Only milk from Montbéliarde or French Simmental cows (or cross breeds of the two) is permitted. * There must be no more than 1.3 cows per

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

of pasture. *

Fertilization Fertilisation or fertilization (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give ...

of pasture is limited, and cows may only be fed fresh, natural feed, with no

silage Silage is fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation (food), fermentation to the point of souring. It is fed to cattle, sheep and other ruminants. The fermentation and storage process is called ''ensilage'', ' ...

. * The milk must be transported to the site of production immediately after milking. * Renneting must be carried out within a stipulated time after milking, according to the storage temperature of the milk. * The milk must be used raw. Only one heating of the milk may occur, and that must be during renneting. The milk may be heated up to . * Salt may only be applied directly to the surface of the cheese. * A

casein Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins (CSN1S1, αS1, aS2, CSN2, β, K-casein, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of ...

label containing the date of production must be attached to the side of the cheese, and maturing must continue for at least four months. * No grated cheese could be sold under the Comté name between 1979 and 2007. In 2005, the

French Government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

registered 175 producers and 188 affineurs (agers) in France. The growing number of cows raised to produce milk for this cheese has led to pollution entering waterways in the Ain,

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; ) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Jura departments, leading to debates on how to balance economics and culture with the environment.

Grading

Each cheese is awarded a score out of 20 by inspectors: the highest possible scores are 1 point for overall appearance, 1.5 for quality of rind, 3.5 for internal appearance, 5 for texture, and 9 for taste. Those cheeses scoring higher than 14 points are given a green casein label with the recognizable logo of a green bell, and are called Comté Extra. Those cheeses scoring from 12 to 14 points are given a brown label and are called simply Comté. Any cheese scoring only 1 or 2 points for taste (out of the possible 9), or scoring below 12 overall, is prohibited from using the Comté name and is sold for other purposes.

Jury terroir

Comté is well known for its distinct

terroir (; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...

: it is made in 160 village-based (cheese-making facilities) in the region, owned by farmers who bring milk from their own cows; strict production rules linking place and product; and the seasonal environmental effects. Comté cheeses go through the process of "jury terroir", where panels of trained volunteer tasters from Comté supply chain and from the region discuss and publish bi-monthly in the newsletter Les Nouvelles de Comté about the taste and their results. This jury terroir was created by Florence Bérodier, a food scientist, to elaborate in response to a set of formidable challenges that Comté cheese underwent in the beginning for its unfamiliar taste and smell. "The jury terroir is there to speak of all the richness in the tastes of a Comté…" – the original member confirmed. For Comté cheese to be world-renowned, the quality improved, but the challenge stood still to create a uniform taste, which was impossible to achieve since there were 160 different fruitières specializing. But through the process of jury terroir, people came to focus on communication among the tasters, which improved their ability to perceive and gained in value. They acquired a general culture that enabled them to describe and exchange the taste of Comtés.

In popular culture

The French coming-of-age film '' Holy Cow'' (2024) is set in the Comté production region and follows a young man attempting to save his family's traditional business by producing the prestigious cheese.

References

External links