Reblochon AOC is a semi-soft, washed-rind and smear-ripened mountain cheese that originated at the heart of the massif des Aravis, in the Thônes region of Haute-Savoie in France. The cheese was decreed as an A.O.C. cheese in 1958 and therefore is subject follow to strict rules and regulations. It is a lightly pressed, uncooked cheese, made from full-cream unpasteurised milk. Thirteenth century fables tell of Savoie herdsmen who carried out an incomplete milking of the cows in order to reduce their ‘taxable’ production of milk. After the rent was paid to the landowners, they went back to ‘remilk’ (reblocher) the cows. The second milking of cows yielded a milk rich in fat and was used to make Reblochon.
Reblochon features a fine velvety rind, varying from yellow to orange in colour. The close textured pate is very smooth, supple and ivory in colour. Farmhouse cheese discs are matured for at least two weeks, during which the cheese develops an edible light beige crust and buttery dough. Reblochon has a slight scent of the cellar and a mild fruity taste with an intense nutty aftertaste. Its delicate and subtle flavours go well with a glass of Savoie wine. The cheese is excellent on the cheeseboard or can be melted on baked potatoes. Reblochon also features as a classic ingredient in one of the Alps’ best-loved dishes, the Tartiflette. This celebrated cheese recently won Bronze medal at 2014 World Cheese Awards.
