Reblochon AOP

Reblochon is the cheese that says Haute-Savoie best. A small round wheel about 14 cm across, a saffron rind dusted with white, a soft creamy paste with a hazelnut taste. It is the one in tartiflette, the one you cut at the end of a mountain meal, the one you bring back from the Aravis. It has held an AOC since 1958, which became an AOP in 2009.

A story of medieval cheating

The name comes from the Savoyard dialect word “re-blocher,” which means “to pinch the cow’s udder a second time.” The story goes back to the 13th century in the Thônes valley. Back then, farmers did not own their land and paid a usage fee based on how much milk they produced. On inspection day, they milked their cows only halfway in front of the landlord, to declare less milk. Once the landlord had left, they finished the milking. That second milk, richer because it comes at the end, was used to make a cheese for the family on the quiet. Reblochon was born of a fraud, and it kept the name.

Raw milk, two breeds, a precise area

Reblochon is made from raw whole milk, which gives it its aromas. The milk comes from three cattle breeds set out in the rules: Abondance, Tarine and Montbéliarde, fed on grass in summer and hay in winter, with no fermented feed. The production area covers much of Haute-Savoie (Aravis, Thônes valley, Val d’Arly, Bornes massif) and spills a little into the Savoyard Val d’Arly.

Making it is quick after milking. The milk is rennetted while still warm, the curd is cut, moulded, lightly pressed, then the cheese is aged at least three weeks on spruce boards, turned and rubbed regularly. Ageing is what develops the orange rind and the melting paste.

Farm-made or dairy-made: the patch tells all

Each reblochon carries a casein patch, a small edible plate made from the milk. Its colour shows the making method, and that is the most useful piece of information for the buyer.

The green patch marks a farm-made reblochon. It is made on the farm, twice a day, right after each milking, with the milk of a single herd. Everything is done by hand. It is the most characterful and the most sought after.

The red patch marks a dairy-made reblochon. The milk is collected from several farms then worked in a dairy or cooperative. The quality is there, the taste is a little more even and less pronounced than the farm-made one.

Choosing it and tasting it

A good reblochon gives under the finger without running. The rind should be supple, slightly damp, never dry or cracked. Take it out of the fridge a good hour before eating: cold, it gives nothing. The rind is edible, a matter of taste.

For a pairing, a dry Savoie white works very well, for example a roussette or a Chablais cru. In cooking, reblochon is the base of tartiflette, where it melts without turning rubbery.

Tasting it in the Aravis

The heart of reblochon is the Aravis massif and the Thônes valley. To discover it closest to the producers, go through the farms and dairies around La Clusaz, Le Grand-Bornand, Thônes and Manigod. Several offer alpine pasture and ageing-cellar visits in summer, a chance to see a milking and a making in real time. The pages for these destinations detail the reblochon-related activities on the spot.