Did you know that Comté shares a history with Swiss
Gruyère? Or that the cows that produce the milk for
the cheese get to spend the winter inside a comfortable stone
house? Will Studd knows these facts and more, and he shares his
knowledge with us in an article in Australian Gourmet
Traveller.
Comté began its journey to becoming the most popular raw-milk
cheese in France when Swiss cheesemakers migrated to the
mountainous Jura region of eastern France following World War II.
They brought with them traditional techniques used in the
processing of Gruyère, although they did introduce some
changes, the most noticeable being how the cheese is
salted.
Little about the cheesemaking process has changed over the
decades. A cooperative of farmers, small dairies, and
affineurs strictly regulates the activity, setting
standards for which breed of cows can be used, how the animal must
be treated, and continuing through to how the cheese is aged. In
the early days, Comté was considered inferior to
Gruyère.
That began to change in the 1960s,
when affineur Marcel Petite started aging select cheeses
in the damp basements of Fort Saint-Antoine, located high in the
mountains. The lower temperatures there allowed the Comté to age
more slowly than its Swiss counterpart, adding depth to the
flavors. If you can locate Comté that has been selected and
matured by Marcel Petite, you are in for a treat, says
Studd.
Photo of Elena's
crispy potatoes with Comté from Food52