All about Reblochon cheese

Reblochon cheese is a creamy, soft cheese that comes from the Savoy region of the Alps in France, between Lake Annecy and the South side of  Lake Léman. It is quite pungent to smell, but surprisingly delicate in taste, so don’t be scared to try it because of the scent that reaches you nose.  Its bark is far worse than its bite!  Reblochon is made from full-cream, unpasteurized cow’s milk.  It is said that about 500 years ago, the farmers in the area were taxed on the milk production of their cows.  So that they could pay less tax, they would would only “half-milk” the cows.  Later on (I guess once the tax collectors had gone on their merry way), they would remilk the cows and make this cheese from the rest of the milk, that was higher in fat content than the milk from the first milking.  In fact, the word reblocher in Savoy dialect means “to remilk”, thus the name Reblochon was born for the cheese.

How do you eat Reblochon cheese?

Reblochon cheese is always round in shape and  has a soft white/yellowish rind that can be eaten. The cheese is washed every couple of days with whey during the production process to help the cheese age more quickly. It only takes 3 to 4 weeks of aging before it is ready to eat.  The taste of reblochon is slightly nutty and it feels velvety in your mouth.  It can be eaten by itself or melted over whatever you would like to melt cheese over!  One of the signature mountain dishes that uses Reblochon is tartiflette: an addictive mixture of sauteed potatoes and lardon (bacon) with Reblochon melted all over it.  You can salivate over the recipe here. If you can’t find Reblochon cheese, I have given you some suggestions of alternatives to use.

This calf actually comes from my parent’s farm, not from the Savoy region in France, but I just added it in since this is a cow’s milk cheese (and the photo is pretty funny!).  This calf was so desperate for its milk dinner that it wouldn’t have left any milk for making cheese!

By Lisa Watson