Vacherin is a cow's-milk (French vache, "cow") cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....

. Two main types of French or Swiss Vacherin cheeses exist.

Mont d'Or

One is a soft, rich, seasonal cheese made from cow's-milk in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 or France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, usually in villages of the Jura

Jura mountains

The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...

 region (an origin that has been officially controlled since 1981), and has a grayish-yellow washed rind and is called Mont d'Or, or Vacherin du Haut-Doubs, from France, or Vacherin Mont d'Or from Switzerland (though it tends to just be called Vacherin in the local shops). It typically contains 45 to 50 percent milk fat (in dry matter), and is produced between August 15 and March 15, and sold between September 10 and May 10, and the Swiss Vacherin Mont d'or is generally made with pasteurised milk, while the French Vacherin du Haut-Doubs is unpasteurised. It is marketed in round boxes of various diameters made of spruce

Spruce

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...

. It is often served warmed in its original packaging and eaten like a fondue

Fondue

Fondue is a Swiss dish of melted cheese served in a communal pot over a spirit lamp , and eaten by dipping long-stemmed forks with bread into the cheese...

.

Officially, the French AOC/PDO allows Artisanal and Coopérative production of Mont d'or.

Vacherin Fribourgeois

The other Vacherin, a firmer cheese, is called Vacherin Fribourgeois. Originally from the Fribourg canton Switzerland, it is where Gruyère

Gruyère (cheese)

Gruyère is a hard yellow cheese, named after the town of Gruyères in Switzerland, and originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne...

 originates, is now produced under Swiss AOC in Valais

Valais

The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of the country, around the valley of the Rhône from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps. The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhône valley...

. It has a slightly acid

Acid

An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...

ic, resin

Resin

Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...

y flavor, akin to Italian Fontina

Fontina

Fontina is a cow's milk Italian cheese. Fontina cheese has been made in the Aosta Valley, in the Alps since the 12th century. It has a milk fat content of around 45%. As with many original varieties, the name "Fontina" has been imposed upon by such derivatives as "Fontinella", "Fontal", and...

, with a varying strength depending on the age and type. It is also a basic component lending character to fondues (depending on the recipe). Vacherin Fribourgeois has Swiss AOC status with 6 varieties being available:

• Classic (aged: 6–12 weeks)
• Extra (aged: minimum 12 weeks)
• Rustic (aged: minimum 12 weeks, but up to 25 weeks (6 months))
• Alpage (aged: 12–25 weeks)
• Mountain (aged 9–25 weeks)
• Bio (Organic) (aged: minimum 9 weeks)

This cheese is made between September and April.

Vacherin d'alpage

Vacherin d'alpage is made from the milk of cows pasturing in alpine meadows and hence has a much richer taste. Vacherin d'alpage are usually made in a cauldron over a wooden fire in some remote chalet on an alpine meadow and they are not easy to find in the trade. The older the vacherin gets, the stronger the smell of ammonia due to microorganism activity in the cheese.

External links

• Making Vacherin Fribourgeois in a Swiss Alpine chalet over wood fire - photoreportage in English