In Abondance, cheese isn’t a memory: it’s a living identity. Abondance is a raw-milk AOP cheese, semi-cooked and pressed, made in the valley from the milk of the Abondance breed — those mahogany cows with characteristic “spectacled” eyes, perfectly suited to the mountains. To understand this cheese is to enter the daily life of the Chablais farms and pastures.
What you discover
In the valley, farms and dairies (fruitières, dairy cooperatives) keep production alive: you see the milk transformed, the ageing cellars where the wheels rest for months, and you taste a fruity cheese with a supple paste. Several producers offer visits around milking times, with direct sales. It’s also a chance to discover the Abondance breed and its role in the landscape. At the table, the cheese is eaten as is or as berthoud, the melted Chablais speciality.
Booking
Farm and dairy visits are arranged directly with the valley’s producers, according to milking and seasonal hours (in summer, some pasture farms open too). Check with the Abondance tourist office for the farms that welcome visitors.
Good to know
Abondance ≠ fourme. Abondance is a pressed, semi-cooked AOP cheese; not to be confused with the neighbouring fourme de Châtel.
The Abondance breed. Mahogany cows with “spectacles”: an emblem of the valley, to see in the meadows and pastures.
When? Year-round at the dairy; in summer, the move to high pastures and active mountain farms.
To taste. The berthoud, Abondance cheese melted with white wine, is the signature dish.
Also worth seeing in Abondance
Round it out with the abbey and hiking in the valley. Back to the destination: Abondance.