Product Profile:

Description:
Comté is one of the richest and most popular cheeses in France, and represents the largest volume of cheese protected by the AOC. It is traditionally produced in the Jura Mountains, where local farmers bring their milk down for the cooperatives (fruitieres), which are managed by a group of villages, to make the cheese. It takes as many as 530 litres of milk to make one wheel of Comte. The AOC restricts production to the Franche-Comté, eastern Bourgogne, and parts of Lorraine, Champagne, and the Rhone-Alpes. Affineur Marcel Petite selects young wheels for maturation under a cold maturation system at 1,100 metres above sea level, within the old underground fort of Saint Antoine.

Aged for at least 12 months, Comté has an even creamy coloured pâté which has a firm, dense, and slightly elastic texture. The flavour is sweet and nutty with a lingering finish. Comté is a versatile cheese and has many possible uses, including appetizer’s, to compliment a salad or as an addition to a fondue, just to name a few.

Information for this profile sourced from AOAP Staff, Calendar Cheese Co & http://www.comte-petite.com/