Probably France’s most famous hard cheese that comes from the Massif du Jura. It’s made from unpasteurised milk from Franche Comté in Eastern France bordering Switzerland. Each cheese weighs up to 50kg.
Milk goes into copper vats where it’s warmed. Each cheese requires 600L milk. Rennet is added and then the curds are cut into tiny grains that are stirred before being heated for around 30 minutes. Placed in moulds the whey is then pressed out.
Only the milk from Montbeliarde or Simmenthal cows is permitted.
A casein label containing the date of production must be attached to the side of the cheese. Cheeses must be matured for a minimum of 4 months and each cheese is graded out of 20.
Overall appearance up to 1 point
Quality of the rind 1,5
Internal appearance 3,5
Texture 5
Taste 9
Those scoring greater than or equal to 14 are called Comté Extra and are given a green casein label, those scoring 12-14 have a brown label and are called simply Comté. Any cheese scoring less than 12 or 1-2 on taste are declassified and can’t be sold as Comté.
The little crystals that you sometimes see on hard cheeses like this are not salt crystals they are either calcium lactate crystals or when calcium and lactic acid combine.
This is the only cheese that can take a robust red wine but locally would be more likely to be paired with a Jura white!
It became an AOC in 1958 and and AOP in 1996
