Mont D'Or Vacherin at Provender Brown
There’s no secret that we love our seasonal ingredients here at PB; this time of year brings one of our favourites, with the first of the Vacherin Cheese arriving from its mountainous origins in Franche-Comté.
There’s no secret that we love our seasonal ingredients here at PB; this time of year brings one of our favourites, with the first of the Vacherin Cheese arriving from its mountainous origins in Franche-Comté.
There’s no secret that we love our seasonal ingredients here at PB. From the burst of sweet Perthshire berries in May, to the bittersweet tang of Seville oranges in January, we are willing slaves to Mother Nature’s best work.
And although many might think that early Autumn is one of our quieter periods, it is in fact a firm favourite. This time of year heralds the return of a real treat from the mountains of Jura, the first of the French Vacherin Mont d’or Cheese.
It is here that herds of brown-and-white Montbéliarde cows – milk producers for Vacherin, aka Mont d’Or – produce the creamy milk required for these famously supple, gooey cheeses. One of the things that makes Vacherin unique its maturation in Norway Spruce, give it a unique flavour. It's mild, nutty, buttery, and well balanced, with a bit of tannin coming from the spruce. It's special flavour and coveted status have even made it the subject of an AOC battle in recent years!
Production of Vacherin dates back to around the 13th century, when it was produced on both sides of the French–Swiss border. The French refer to it as Mont d’Or or Vacherin du Haut-Doubs, the Swiss as Vacherin Mont d’Or. Both, in our opinion, are equally delicious.
Due to this long-time clash of ideals, it is now produced under strict AOC regulations. Mont d’Or can only be produced between August 15th and March 15th and sold between September 10th and May 10th. So you can probably understand our annual excitement as the cheese reaches Scottish shores in early Autumn!
The strict guidelines work their way into everything from the height at which the cattle must graze - 700m (2,297ft) - to the time of day the milk must be in the vats for the process to start - 12 noon in case you’re interested, and that means a 4am start!
Once in their spruce moulds, the cheeses are put to rest in for two weeks, during which time they are brushed three or four times by hand with water and salt to get rid of any excess mould. After two weeks, the spruce bands are split and the cheeses are squeezed into the familiar round wooden boxes, before being topped with a lid and popped into a wet, cold fridge for 20 more days.
There are only 11 makers of Mont d’Or in France, all operating within a narrow strip of land – about 30 miles long, 12 miles wide – along the Swiss/French border. We sell the traditional Mont d’or and, it must be said, we're all partial to it baked in the oven and then used as a lux, creamy dip for some of our fresh sourdough bread.
Buy it while you can, enjoy it while it lasts and tell everyone you know to do the same!
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