The Comté Region

The Comté AOC defines a production zone that more or less corresponds to the Massif du Jura, a region which spans the Jura, the Doubs (both departments in the Franche-Comté region) and the Ain (in the Rhône-Alpes).

The Jura Massif is a made up of medium-sized mountains that formed during the Jurassic period. Great plateaus at altitudes of between 500 and 1,500 metres are crowned with fir trees.
The rugged landscape is intersected by lush green valleys containing numerous rivers that are particularly well-stocked with fish. The seasons are markedly different and very clearly defined.

Winters are rigorous and the thick blanket of snow creates a magical, majestic atmosphere. It is a paradise for cross-country skiers.

After the thaw, the meadows are filled with a dazzling display of spring flowers. Once again the hillsides are filled with the sound of the Montbéliardes’ clanging bells as they return to the tender grass under the last clumps of snow.

In the heart of the summer, the gentle sound of the lazily flowing rivers encourages ramblers and holiday makers to enjoy a post picnic snooze. Here, the concept of “green tourism” is given full expression.

In the autumn, the foliage puts on a last fiery display before the cold weather sets in. The diversity of the Jura forests composes a spectacular symphony of reds and golds. This often very mild season is perfect for solitary walks along the paths carpeted with leaves.

 --> Download map Comté dairies.

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The production of Comté milk

While modern techniques have been embraced where they can facilitate procedures and increase quality, the production of Comté remains based on traditional methods.
Each stage is subject to strict rules that are set down in the AOC specifications.

First of all, Comté milk is produced on more than 3,000 family farms practising non-intensive agriculture, i.e. agriculture that, rather than aiming for the highest possible yields, focuses on quality, and takes into account soil characteristics.

The farmer raises Montbéliarde cows (95% of the herds) or French Simmental (5%), and feeds them a natural diet based on fresh grass during the summer months and hay during the winter. Any kind of fermented feed, such as silage, is prohibited because it adversely affects the quality of the milk.

The flora in the Jura Massif is very diverse and, depending on where they are located, cows may graze on different plants. This is reflected in the milk and, ultimately, in the varying flavours of the cheese.

For there to be enough forage to feed a herd, farmers must provide at least one hectare of grazing area for each dairy cow. The cows are milked mornings and evenings. The milk has to be brought to the cheese dairy every day. In order to express the diversity of the soil and types of grazing as best as possible, the foraging zone for each cheese dairy is limited to an area with a diameter of twenty-five kilometres.

> The Montbéliarde cow – key facts and figures

A cow weighs between 650 and 800 kg and generally lives to be six-years-old, but can produce milk up to the age of twenty.
An average herd consists of about thirty-five cows; there are approximately 112,000 cows in the AOC zone.
For a herd of thirty-five cows, a farm needs around 45 hectares (110 acres) so as to able to also feed thirty-five heifers and thus maintain the herd.

> Feed:
- Daily summer intake (cows are on pasture seven to nine months of the year depending on altitude) = 60 to 70 kg of grass + 2 to 3 kg of feed supplements + 15 litres of water + 100 g of minerals (phosphorous, calcium, vitamin A) + salt block.
- Daily winter intake = 15 kg of hay + 5 kg of feed supplements + 50 litres of water + 100 g of minerals (phosphorous, calcium, vitamin A) + salt block.
The use of supplements enables the cows to be fed a balanced diet. Grass, and to an even greater extent hay, are rich in cellulose, while cereals (barley, maize, etc.) are rich in starch and cattle-cakes (soya, sunflower, flax, rape, etc.) provide protein.
2/3 of the farmers grow cereals, which are used in the form of flours and granules.
Fodder (hay + aftermath) is harvested on the farm, 1 hectare giving 5 T of hay and 3 T of aftermath.

> Lactation:
Cows begin to calve when they are two and a half to three years old, generally in the autumn; they will then have one calf every year. After calving, the calf is given milk for eight days, and then fed using milk powder for two months.
A cow gives about twenty litres of milk for 305 days of the year.

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Cheese making

The cheese-making process must start within twenty-four hours of the milk being collected, and so Comté is made every day. Comté is thus produced 365 days of the year and 366 days in leap years.

Local producers bring their milk to the cheese dairy where it is made into Comté. Generally of a cooperative nature, this particular form of village-based organisation originated eight centuries ago. An approach that incorporates solidarity and sharing has been preserved, as have the small-scale production techniques and traditions which make Comté a great cheese.

Often located in the centre of the village, the cheese dairies (there are 170 spread over the Jura Massif) receive milk everyday from the surrounding farms. The method for making Comté has not changed for centuries. Its aim is to produce a cheese that keeps well, and so is of a substantial size and has a low water content, while at the same time preserving the natural flora in the raw milk, which gives the cheese its rich flavour. The method involves several stages:

> Maturing
Every morning in the cheese dairy, the cheese maker partially skims the milk, heats it to about 30°C in large copper (compulsory) vats and lets it “mature” for half an hour. Additives and colouring agents are strictly prohibited.

> Coagulation
Rennet, prepared from the lining of calves’ stomachs, is then added, and some whey from the previous day, in order to coagulate the milk: a mass of curds forms in which the whey is trapped.

> Cutting of the curds
Using a curd knife the cheese maker cuts the curds into tiny pieces the size of a grain of rice, which then separate from the whey. The mixture is then gradually heated to about 55°C to “dry out” the grains, i.e. to remove the liquid part.

> Draining
When the grains have reached the right consistency, the contents of the vat are transferred to perforated moulds which allow the whey to drain off and the curds to set.

> Pressing
After placing a green casein label on the side of each cheese indicating the date and location, the cheese maker places the moulds in a press. “White” cheeses are then unmoulded in the evening or the next morning and taken to the cellars where the pre-maturing process starts.

> Pre-maturing
This is generally carried out at the cheese dairy and enables the curd grains to solidify. The cheeses are stored at between 10 and 15°C for three weeks, before being moved for a longer stay in one of the Massif’s maturing cellars.

--> Download the simplified version of the diagram of the production of Comté (in French).

What’s A Fruitière?

The fruitière – aka fromagerie or cheesemaking house – is where the farmers take their milk to transform it into Comté. The fruitière is generally organized as a cooperative and is often situated at the heart of the village. These cooperatives have been the nexus of village organization for over eight centuries. There are 175 fruitières that make Comté. On average, each fruitière has 19 members, or local dairy farms, that are located within an eight-mile radius.
Each day the farmers deliver their milk to their local fruitière. It will be crafted into Comté within 24 hours maximum of milking. Early each morning, following partial skimming, the cheesemaker pours the milk into large copper vats to be warmed. Next, cultures then rennet are added to create curds. The curds are cut into tiny white pieces, which are stirred and heated to 54ºC for thirty minutes. The contents are poured into Comté forms and the remaining liquid, or whey, is pressed out. The resulting young cheese is aged for a few weeks on spruce boards in the fruitière’s small cellar, before being sent to one of the region’s affineur’s cellars or caves for maturing. Legally, Comté wheels must be aged for at least 4 months, but they are often aged for 6-18 months. Altogether, the 175 fruitières crafted 1,248,179 Comté wheels in 2006. The average weight of these wheels was 88.46 lbs (40.2 kg).

Each fruitière has its own distinct profile related to the aromatic characteristics of the Comté that it produces. These aromatic characteristics reflect the terroir (or soil, climate, flora, etc.) of where the cheese is produced. There are generally 4-12 dominant aromas that characterize each fruitière. For example:
• The fruitière of Doye-Charbonny crafts Comté that is characterized by aromas of melted butter, milk chocolate, hazelnuts and fudge. When the cheeses are aged beyond 15 months, aromas of toast, plum compote, leather, pepper and dark chocolate are apparent.
• The fruitière of Villeneuved’Amont, on the other hand, produces Comté that is dominated by butterscotch aromas with a hint of toast, followed by fruity aromas such as hazelnut, roasted nuts, sweet orange juice and ripe apricot. With longer aging, the aromas of hazelnut and orange become more pronounced.

Maturing

When it comes to acquiring flavour, Comté cannot be hurried. In the silence and shadowy darkness of the cellars Comté undergoes a second transformation and is carefully looked after so as to encourage the natural development of flavours as the months pass by. In French there is a special word, affiner, which means to complete the maturing process of cheese.

The rounds of cheese sit on spruce boards and are regularly salted, rubbed with a brine solution called morge, and turned over. As a result of these procedures, the rind develops, the initially grainy and elastic texture of the cheese becomes smooth and supple. The whey flavour that dominates at unmoulding, gradually becomes richer and more refined. During this period in the cellar (from a minimum of four months to eighteen or even twenty-four months), each Comté acquires a “personality”, developing a unique texture, colour and range of flavours.

Depending on the characteristics of the cheese and the ultimate objective, the affineur (person who completes the maturing process) may use a series of different types of cellar: “hot cellars” (from 14 to 19°C) and “cold cellars” (less than 14°C).
Time spent in a hot cellar encourages the formation of eyes (holes) and certain types of flavour. In cold cellars, the cheese evolves more slowly and different flavours develop.
The natural fermenting agents in raw milk, still present in the cheese, affect the way it matures. And so, because the characteristics of the milk produced tend to vary, the resulting cheeses also vary, even if they have undergone exactly the same maturing process.

The Massif du Jura has around twenty maisons d’affinage (“maturing houses”); each one offering a maturing process that is a function of its location, its cellar conditions and techniques, and which is suited to the cheese that has been delivered.

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Inspection: green band or brown band?

When it leaves the cellar, a green or brown “marking band” is given to each Comté as an indication of its quality. This is attached by the affineur who grades each wheel of cheese on the basis of various criteria, amongst which flavour is the most important.
Cheeses awarded a grade of 15/20 or more receive a green band, entitling them to be called “Comté extra”, while cheeses that are graded from 12 to 15 receive a brown band and are simply called “Comté”. Cheeses with a grade of less than 12 may not be called Comté and are generally used to make cheese spreads.

The grading of Comtés is based not only on flavour but also the wheels’ physical appearance. So a brown band could be the result of a minor defect in appearance in an otherwise excellent cheese. A “green” or “brown” band is the guarantee of an authentic Comté with a minimum age of four months. The different colours are not an indication of different ages or of different types of flavour.

A professional panel meets regularly to examine samples taken from cheeses leaving the maturing cellars and to check that the bands have been correctly allocated.

> Criteria          > Grading basis
- Taste               9
- Body               5
- Cracks/holes 3.5
- Rind                1.5
- Shape              1
> Total               20 points

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