A pressed uncooked cow's milk cheese of the Auvergne highlands, sold in large cylindrical wheels and aged to three grades from young to old. One of the oldest cheeses in France, with a documented lineage reaching back to antiquity; granted Appellation d'Origine Controlee in 1956.
Cantal is a pressed uncooked cheese of the Cantal department in the Auvergne, south-central France. Wikipedia notes that it is one of the oldest cheeses in France, with a lineage reaching back to antiquity — traditionally made in the highland pastures of the Auvergne. It received its Appellation d'Origine Controlee in 1956 and was registered for the European Protected Designation of Origin in 1996. It is sold in three grades by age: jeune, one to two months; entre-deux, three to seven months; and vieux, six months and beyond.
A wedge of Cantal is dense and firm, the paste straw-gold and slightly granular, with a natural rind that browns with age. Young Cantal is milky, buttery, and tangy; as it ages the texture firms and the flavor deepens to toasted nuts, sharp butter, and a savory, almost Cheddar-like bite. The granular quality of the paste is more pronounced in older wheels.
Cantal is a pressed uncooked cheese, distinguished from Comte and other cooked-curd cheeses by its lower curd temperature. Rennet coagulates cow's milk; the curd is cut, salted in a distinctive repeated stage, and pressed repeatedly over several days rather than heated. Because the curd is not cooked, it retains more moisture and a higher concentration of the milk's lactic microflora, which gives Cantal its tangy, lactic character. The extended pressing expels whey and produces the dense, firm paste; the long aging then develops the toasted, nutty complexity through slow proteolysis. The characteristic granular texture comes from the calcium lactate crystals and the protein matrix that forms under repeated pressing without heat.
Variations
Three grades are sold: Cantal jeune, entre-deux, and vieux; older wheels are firmer, sharper, and more crystalline.
On the Palate
Where Cantal Cheese sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 40How it's made
6 steps · 1 hour
- 160 min
Collect cow's milk and warm it; add starter and rennet to set the curd.
- 2120 min
Cut the curd and drain; press lightly, then cut the pressed curd again and salt it.
Watch outCut and drain the curd, press lightly, then cut it again and salt — this cut-press-cut-salt cycle is what defines Cantal, so don't skip the repeat.
- 3120 min
Repeat the pressing and salting stages over several days — the defining sequence of Cantal.
- 460 min
Press the salted curd firmly into cylindrical molds to form the large wheel.
Watch outPress the salted curd firmly into the mould — under-pressed, it holds whey and the paste won't turn dense and firm as it ages.
- 560 min
Age in cool humid cellars: one to two months for jeune, three to seven for entre-deux, six or more for vieux.
- 620 min
Turn regularly and brush the rind; release graded by age.
