In brief

Comté (“con – TAY”) cheese ID

Origin: Jura Mountains (Massif du Jura), France

Milk Type: Raw cow’s milk

Cheese Style: Artisanal. Pressed, cooked, with natural brushed rind.

French AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) since 1958:
• Delimited area of production: Doubs, Jura, Ain, elevation 1500-4500 ft.
• Milk must be produced by local cows of the Montbéliarde (95%) and Simmental (5%) breeds. There are approximately 112,000 Comté cows.
• Minimum of 2.5 acres of natural pasture for each animal.
• Cattle feed must be natural and free of fermented products and GMOs.
• Each fruitière must collect milk from dairy farms within a 17-mile diameter maximum.
• Milk must be made into cheese within 24 hours maximum of the earliest milking.
• Only natural ferments must be used to transform the milk into curds.
• Wheels must be aged on spruce boards. Minimum aging is 4 months, generally 6-18 months and sometimes even longer.

European Union Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Certification.

Quick overview of a great cheese

Comté is a pressed cooked cheese made with unpasteurized milk. It is produced in the Massif du Jura, a moderately mountainous region which spans the Jura, the Doubs (both departments in the Franche-Comté region) and the Ain (in the Rhône-Alpes). Montbéliarde and French Simmental cows are the only types of cow authorized for the production of Comté milk.

Comté is produced on a daily basis by about 170 small-scale village dairies, known as "fruitières".

When it comes to acquiring flavour, Comté cannot be hurried. Maturing takes place in special cellars for a minimum period of four months; however, this is often extended, and while the average is eight months, it can be for much longer. Comté is characterized by its surprisingly rich flavour. This is not a cheese that always tastes the same. Each round of Comté reveals differences in the composition of its flavour, depending on the micro-region where it was produced, the season, the particular technique of the cheese maker, and the cellar where it was matured. In this respect, Comté is a UNIQUE cheese.

Rich in phosphorous, calcium, mineral salts and protein, Comté is an excellent source of nutrition that can play a very useful role in maintaining a balanced diet. Made without additives or colouring agents and monitored at every stage of production, Comté is a HEALTHY, NATURAL food.

AOC Comté – key figures
1st > Comté has the highest production figures of all the French AOC cheeses (51,000 tons in 2005, or about 1,275,000 rounds every year).
3 > Located at an altitude of between 200 and 1,500 metres, the AOC zone extends over three departments of the Massif du Jura: the Doubs, the Jura and part of the Ain.
8 > The average maturing period for a round of Comté is eight months. The maturing period ranges from four months (the legal minimum ) to twelve, fifteen, eighteen or even twenty-four months.
40 > A round of Comté weighs an average of 40 kg, having a diameter of 60 cm and a thickness (or “heel”) of 10 cm.
450 > 450 litres of milk are required to make one 40 kg round. A Montbéliarde cow produces about 20 litres of milk over two milkings; to make one round of Comté therefore requires twenty-three cows and, since each cow must be given at least one hectare, a minimum of twenty-three hectares (about fifty-seven acres) of pasture.
1958 > Comté was granted AOC status (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) in 1958.