Cheeses of Savoie
Savoie and Haute-Savoie form one of the largest cheese regions in France. Eight cheeses carry an official quality label here: five AOP (protected designation of origin) and three IGP (protected geographical indication). Behind these labels lies a simple reality: a set of rules that fixes the production area, the cattle breeds, what the herd eats and the making method. That is what makes a reblochon a reblochon and not just any tomme.
This page is the starting point. It presents the eight cheeses, explains how to tell them apart, and links to the detailed pages. Not all are strictly from Haute-Savoie: Beaufort, for instance, is made in Savoie, in the Beaufortain and the Tarentaise. We mention it because it is part of the alpine cheese landscape and you find it everywhere across the region’s high pastures.
The five AOP
Reblochon is the signature cheese of Haute-Savoie. A pressed, uncooked raw-milk cheese, it was born in the Thônes valley and the Aravis, where it is still made twice a day on the farms. Its casein patch shows the origin: green for farm-made, red for dairy-made. It is all explained on the reblochon page.
Abondance comes from the valley of the same name, in the Chablais. A pressed, semi-cooked raw-milk cheese with an amber rind and a stronger taste than reblochon, with a hint of hazelnut. It takes its name from the village of Abondance and the local cattle breed. It is the base of berthoud, the Chablais speciality. Discover it near Châtel and La Chapelle-d’Abondance.
Chevrotin is the region’s only goat’s-milk AOP, and the only one made exclusively on the farm. It is produced in the Aravis, around Manigod and Le Grand-Bornand. Pressed and uncooked with a washed rind, it is a rare cheese made in small quantities.
Tome des Bauges (spelled with one “m”) comes from the Bauges massif, straddling Savoie and Haute-Savoie. A pressed, uncooked raw-milk cheese, it is a keeping cheese, more rustic. The massif touches the south of Lake Annecy.
Beaufort, finally, is made in Savoie, outside the department. A pressed, cooked cheese in a large wheel, nicknamed the “prince of gruyères,” it goes into many local recipes, including fondue. We list it here as a neighbour of the family, not as a Haute-Savoie product.
The three IGP
Tomme de Savoie is the everyday cheese, found across the whole region. A pressed, uncooked cheese with a grey rind, often from partly skimmed milk (the whole milk went to butter and reblochon). It is a modest cheese, sometimes farm-made, with many variants.
Emmental de Savoie is a large wheel of pressed, cooked cheese, recognisable by its holes. Milder than its cousins, it is used a lot in cooking, notably in fondue and gratins.
Raclette de Savoie is the raclette cheese made in the region, not to be confused with the meal. A pressed, uncooked cheese, made to melt. A dedicated page will soon cover both the cheese and the meal.
How to tell them apart
Three questions place any Savoyard cheese. The milk: raw or pasteurised? The region’s AOP cheeses favour raw milk, which keeps the flavours of the terroir. The paste: pressed and uncooked (reblochon, tomme), semi-cooked (abondance) or cooked (beaufort, emmental)? The more cooked and pressed the paste, the longer the cheese keeps. The making method: farm-made (a single herd, on the farm) or dairy-made (collected milk, made in a dairy)? Farm-made is rarer and often more characterful.
Where to taste them at the source
The best place to buy these cheeses is the local dairy or cooperative, which ages and sells them direct. Many offer cellar visits. In the Aravis, the cheese route links several producers around reblochon and chevrotin. In the Abondance valley, you follow the thread of abondance and berthoud. Village markets are also a good habit.
To cook these cheeses, see the matching dishes: tartiflette and Savoyard fondue on the Savoyard specialities page.