Cantal

What is Cantal Cheese?

Cantal comes from the Auvergne region of central France, chiefly from the département of Cantal, which takes its name from the Cantal mountains, plus a few adjoining districts. It dates back to the times of the Gauls, which makes it one of the oldest cheeses in France. Marshal Henri de La Ferté-Senneterre brought it to prominence by serving it at the table of Louis XIV. The cheese was granted Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée certification in 1956.

There are two types. Cantal Fermier is a farmhouse cheese made from raw milk, and Cantal Laitier is a commercial, mass-produced version made from pasteurized milk. Both answer to the same strict quality controls. Only milk from hay-fed Salers cows is used, and only between November 15 and April 15. When those same cows graze mountain meadows in summer, their milk goes into Salers cheese instead.

This is an uncooked, semi-hard cheese shaped into cylinders of massive size, with a soft interior and a fat content of 45%. The taste leans toward Cheddar, strong and tangy with butter, and it grows more assertive over months in the cellar. Cantal jeune, aged one to two months, carries a hint of sweetness and the buttery taste of raw milk. Entre-deux, also called doré, is aged three to nine months. Vieux goes past eight months, by which point it counts as a hard cheese with a vigorous nutty tang, and its pitted crust is the work of cheese mites.

Cantal turns up in soups, salads, aligot potatoes, cheese fondue and gratins. Jeune and entre-deux make up more than 80 percent of production. Vieux is produced in small amounts and stays close to home, though stored properly it keeps for up to a year and a half. The crust of Cantal Fermier, like that of any raw milk cheese, can carry Listeria and should be discarded; the cheese is not suitable for children, pregnant women, the elderly, or immunocompromised people.