Comté

Mentioned with another name during the time of the Romans, this cheese was already being exported to Italy from the port of Marseille. In the 13th century, the first cheese making chalets, known as fruitières, were built where the herders brought the milk fresh from their cows. They made what was known as “vachelin,” later known as “gruyère de comté” and then just Comté, intended to provide a source of food during the long harsh winters.

The milk for comté comes only from Montbéliarde cows. Today, to make this cheese born of the patience of generations of “fruitiers”, the farmers still pool their milk: It takes about 350 to 500 litres of milk to make one 35 to 55 kg round wheel of Comté.