France produces between 350 and 400 distinct named cheeses (the number varies depending on how regional varieties are counted). Charles de Gaulle famously complained that governing a country that produces 258 types of cheese was impossible. The cheese culture is protected by the AOC/AOP designation system (Appellation d’Origine Protégée) which legally defines the production region, milk type, and techniques for each protected cheese.
The Major Families
Fresh cheeses (fromages frais): unaged, high moisture. Chèvre frais (fresh goat cheese — Loire Valley): tangy, spreadable; ranges from snow-white discs to logs. Typically eaten on bread with honey. Fromage blanc: thick, yogurt-like; eaten with fruit or as a cooking ingredient. Soft-ripened (croûte fleurie — white rind): Brie de Meaux AOP and Brie de Melun AOP — the two legally protected Bries; Brie de Meaux is the larger (diameter 36–37cm), milder, most widely exported; Brie de Melun is smaller, more pungent, and considered the “original” by aficionados. Camembert de Normandie AOP: made from unpasteurised Normandy milk (the key legal distinction — most “Camembert” sold worldwide is made from pasteurised milk and is legally just “Camembert” not “Camembert de Normandie”). 4 producers remain of true Camembert de Normandie. Coulommiers: similar to Brie but smaller — sometimes called “Brie’s country cousin.” Washed-rind cheeses (croûte lavée — orange rind): the most pungent category — rind is washed with brine, beer, wine, or spirits during ageing, developing orange Brevibacterium linens bacteria (the same bacteria responsible for foot odour). Munster AOP (Alsace): washed with brine or Marc d’Alsace brandy; one of the smellier French cheeses. Epoisses AOP (Burgundy): washed with Marc de Bourgogne; reportedly Napoleon’s favourite cheese; extremely runny when ripe; traditionally eaten with a spoon. Livarot AOP (Normandy): wrapped with rushes (giving it the nickname “le colonel” for the stripes).
The Harder Styles
Pressed uncooked (pâte pressée non cuite): Reblochon AOP (Savoie): semi-firm, mild, nutty — the cheese melted over potatoes in tartiflette (the Alpine dish). The Cantal AOP (Auvergne): can be eaten young (Cantal jeune — soft, milky), medium (entre-deux), or old (Cantal vieux — firm, sharp, drier). One of France’s oldest cheeses. Ossau-Iraty AOP (Basque country/Béarn): sheep’s milk, semi-firm, nutty and slightly sweet. Pressed cooked (pâte pressée cuite): Comté AOP (Franche-Comté/Jura): the most consumed cheese in France by weight. Semi-hard to hard; complex flavour developing over a minimum 4-month (standard) to 18–24 month (reserve) ageing period. Long aftertaste. Fruit notes in young Comté; more intense, crystalline, complex in older versions. Beaufort AOP (Savoie): similar to Comté but made from the milk of Tarine (Tarentaise) or Abondance cows; a distinctive concave rind; rich, creamy, buttery. Blue cheeses (pâte persillée): Roquefort AOP (Aveyron): the only French blue with sheep’s milk; aged in the limestone caves of Combalou; legally required to be produced and aged in the commune of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. Sharp, crumbly, intensely salty and pungent. Fourme d’Ambert AOP (Auvergne): the mildest major French blue — semi-firm, creamy, gentle. One of France’s oldest cheeses.
