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Comte

Comté is the pride of the region

AOC certified since 1958, Comté is a cheese for gourmets.

Comté is a so-called ‘large-size’ cheese that dates back to the 12th century, to a time when peasants had to come up with collective solutions to survive the harsh winters. By pooling their milk reserves to make this cheese that keeps well, they formed cooperative cheese dairies.

Crédit photo : CIGC

Fact sheet

Made from raw cow’s milk, Comté is a cooked hard cheese (45% fat) with a lovely ‘butter’ colour. The production area includes the Jura and Doubs departments, the eastern part of the Ain department and several districts in Saône-et-Loire and Haute-Savoie. It takes 450 litres of milk to make one Comté cheese (65 cm in diameter and 45 kg). The AOC specifications stipulate that the milk must come from at least two farms. The cows (95% Montbéliarde breed and 5% Simmenthal) must be raised extensively because silaging is banned. The milk must be collected within a 25 km radius of the cooperative cheese dairy. The extraordinarily rich flavour of Comté is largely due to the extensiveness of its agriculture.

To make Comté, the milk is poured into copper vats 24 hours after collection, with rennet added  naturally; it is then heated to 53°C for 45 minutes, pressed into a wooden circle, salted dry or in brine, drained and regularly turned. The maturing process varies from four to twenty-four months.  Once mature, each whole cheese of Comté is tasted and given a mark out of 20 before being sold. With a mark above 14, it is recognized as “Comté extra” and given the famous band with green bells. Between 12 and 14 it is given a brown band and called “Comté”. If the mark is below 12, it is converted into melted cheese. An AOC Comté matured for 18 to 24 months is labelled long-life or reserve Comte.  Winter Comté has a slight hazelnut flavour.

Production and consumption

This low-salt cheese (roughly 0.80 g for 100 g) is rich in vitamins A and C. Its taste may vary depending on different factors, such as the season, the maturing period, the region and the personal hand of those who make or mature the cheese.

The consumption has risen sharply over the last twenty years (+64%), leading in turn to an increase in production (51,000 tons in 2008). Besides the 160 cooperative cheese dairies, the sector numbers about 3,000 milk producers and about twenty maturing businesses. (Source: Interprofession du comté)

At Rungis Market

According to Mr Patrice Audinet, Commercial Director of La Fromagerie du Jura, “There is no season for Comté. I sell 200 whole Comté extra cheeses a week to my dairy and cheesemonger clients in Paris and Ile-de-France and in the provinces. This market is growing 10% annually.”


Matthieu NOLI

 

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