Mont d'Or Cheese

Mont d'Or — officially Mont d'Or or Vacherin du Haut-Doubs to distinguish it from the Swiss Vacherin Mont d'Or — is a seasonal cheese made in the Haut-Doubs of Franche-Comte, on the high pastures above roughly seven hundred meters. Production traces to the thirteenth century. The cheese is made only from September through May, when the cows descend from the high pastures and their milk is no longer abundant enough to make large Comte wheels; smaller Mont d'Or wheels were the practical answer. It received its Appellation d'Origine Controlee in 1981. The French version is made from raw milk, the Swiss from thermalized milk — a distinction that marks the two as legally separate products despite the shared name.

A whole Mont d'Or arrives in its spruce box, the cheese so soft it sags under its own weight, the rind corrugated and pinkish-orange from washing. A spoon sunk into the center comes out trailing a ribbon of pale, glossy, almost fluid paste; the flavor is rich, beefy, and pungent, with a distinct resinous note from the spruce bark. Often baked in its box with garlic and white wine — Mont d'Or chaud — and eaten communally with bread and potatoes.

Mont d'Or's signature spoonable texture comes from the interplay of high moisture, surface washing, and proteolysis. The curd is drained without pressing, leaving high water content; during affinage the rind is repeatedly washed with brine, which selects for surface bacteria — particularly Brevibacterium linens — that thrive in the salty, moist environment. These bacteria secrete proteases that break down the paste from the outside in, softening it progressively into the fluid, glossy cream. The spruce-bark hoop physically contains the cheese as it loses structural integrity, preventing it from flowing away; the bark also contributes resinous aromatic compounds. Baked, the proteolysis accelerates and the cheese melts fully into a warm, communal dip.