The Jura region of eastern France, located in the foothills of the Jura mountains near the Swiss border, is renowned for its high-quality cheeses. These cheeses are produced from the rich, herb-flavored milk of the local Montbéliarde cows that graze on the verdant pastures of the mountains.
The most famous cheese from this region is undoubtedly Comté. Comté has achieved worldwide praise and is one of the most popular cheeses in France. But the Jura produces a variety of other distinctive cheeses like Morbier, Bleu de Gex, and Mont d’Or, each with its own unique character and flavors.
The cheeses of the Jura are shaped by the terroir - the environmental conditions and traditional food cultures - of this mountainous region.
Key aspects that add their distinctive qualities include:
- The Montbéliarde cows: These reddish-brown cows are specially adapted to graze on the diverse grasses and wildflowers of the Jura mountains. Their milk has subtle floral and fruity flavors that vary through the seasons.
- The fruitières: Local cooperative dairies where the milk is transformed into cheese by traditional methods. Each fruitière crafts cheese with the subtle signature taste of its area.
- Careful aging: Many Jura cheeses are cave-aged from a few months to over a year to develop complex nutty, sweet and tangy flavors.
- Strict rules: To preserve uniqueness and quality, rules control key aspects such as the breeds of cows, their feed, the processing methods and aging times.
While small-scale production and artisanal methods make Jura cheeses more expensive than industrial cheeses, cheese lovers agree that their outstanding depth of flavor and diversity is well worth the premium price.
Comté - The King of Jura Cheeses
Comté is undoubtedly the most famous cheese not just from the Jura region but from the whole of France. Often called the “King of Cheeses”, approx 64,000 tons of Comté are produced annually from the milk of over 190 fruitières. Despite this high volume, all Comté continues to be made by traditional artisanal methods.
What Makes Comté So Special
Several factors contribute to the unique taste and texture of Comté:
- Raw milk from Montbéliarde cows: By law, only raw milk from these cows grazing on pastures above 1000 ft can be used to ensure premium quality. Each farmer has no more than 1.5 cows per acre to prevent overgrazing.
- Fruitière cooperatives: Within hours after milking, the milk is taken to the local fruitière. Master cheesemakers use time-honored methods to transform the milk into cheese wheels of up to 8 lbs each.
- Cave aging from 4 months to 2 years: The cheese wheels are aged in the caves of the Jura mountains, where ambient conditions slowly intensify the flavor. Longer aging produces more complex fruity, nutty and crystalline flavors.
- Terroir: Made from local milk using traditional methods, Comté reflects subtle taste differences from village to village based on the unique local terroir.
Tasting Comté Cheese
Comté has a smooth, dense texture and intense flavors spanning from milky and sweet when young to rich and nutty with crystalline crunchiness in very old samples. Every wheel is graded on strict criteria and only the best are labeled as Comté Extra and marked with the iconic green bell. Connoisseurs select Comté to pair with regional wines or enjoy with bread, crackers and fruit.
Key Takeaway: What makes Comté unique is how differences in the local environment, feed, native microflora and old-fashioned production methods come together to create complex flavor profiles that vary through the seasons and as Comté ages.
Morbier - The Cheese with the Distinct Dark Line
Morbier is a soft cow’s milk cheese instantly recognizable by the thin dark gray layer running horizontally through the middle. This marking comes from an old tradition of separating curds from the evening milking and the morning milking by a layer of vegetable ash to prevent them mixing.
Although now made from a single milking, this thin blue-gray line made from the dried marc (seeds, skins and stems) left over from nearby Arbois wine production remains a distinctive signature of Morbier.
Morbier has a soft, creamy ivory interior with a slightly brittle orange rind. Despite being soft-ripened for only 10 days, it develops a rich, earthy flavor with hints of mushrooms, nuts and grass. The gray line adds a layer of tangy intensity and lingering aftertaste to the smooth interior paste.
Morbier pairs wonderfully with dry white Jura wines and dark breads. It also features prominently in French cuisine in hot sandwiches like the melted Croque Monsieur and Tartiflette potato casserole.
Mont d’Or - The King of Winter Cheeses
Mont d'Or, also called Vacherin du Haut-Doubs, is a lusciously creamy seasonal cheese handcrafted between August 15 and March 15 when the Montbéliarde cows return from their high mountain pastures.
Legend has it that over a hundred years ago, the cheesemakers used the last and richest milk from their herds to create a special winter treat for themselves before the cows calved. They ripened small, buttery soft cheeses wrapped with spruce bark in wooden boxes near warm ovens for a few weeks.
Today, this melt-in-the-mouth cheese is still made by secret recipes in the fruitières of the Haut-Doubs region using rich, late-lactation milk. Each wheel is ripened for at least 21 days to develop an intense, earthy, mushroomy flavor with hints of nuts and alcohol.
The rindless Mont d'Or wheel is always wrapped in spruce bark and presented in a wooden box. The full aroma develops under the wrap as the cheese slowly oozes out during aging. This runny texture makes it perfect for baking in its box until warmed through into an unctuous molten state ideal for dipping crusty bread. A local specialty is Mont d’Or fondue made with white wine and garlic.
Other Notable Cheeses of the Jura
While Comté, Morbier and Mont d’Or are the most highly acclaimed cheeses from the mountains of eastern France, the Jura produces a variety of other cheeses worth trying:
- Bleu de Gex - An ivory-colored blue cheese with a smooth, creamy texture and robust blue flavor.
- Cancoillotte - A mild-tasting spread with a creamy texture made by blending young Comté with milk and butter.
- Emmental - The French make their own version of Switzerland's famous Emmental in the Jura's fruitières. It has a sweeter, more buttery version of the nutty hard cheese.
- Vacherin Fribourgeois - Produced across the nearby border into Switzerland, this supple, pungent soft cheese is a cousin of Mont d’Or.
Food Pairings with Jura Cheeses
The fruity, nutty, mushroomy flavors of Jura cheeses pair wonderfully with other regional specialties and wines. Some delectable combinations to try:
Wines
- Vin jaune, Savagnin - Dry, nutty yellow wines.
- Arbois wines - Light reds and crisp whites.
- Marc de Jura - A rich, amber-hued eau de vie.
Other specialties
- Comté with smoked Montbéliard sausage or ham.
- Morbier melted in Tartiflette casserole with potatoes and smoked bacon.
- Mont d’Or baked till oozy with charcuterie meats as dips.
- Fresh walnuts and golden honey with mild Cancoillotte.
Popular Comté Dishes
Here are some classic ways that Comté's nutty, crystalline goodness is enjoyed in regional cuisine and French cooking:
- Fondue - Melted with white wine and garlic for dipping bread and potatoes.
- Raclette - Melted over boiled potatoes, ham and pickled cornichons.
- Croque Monsieur - The famous grilled ham and cheese hot sandwich.
- Soufflé - Light, airy egg-based baked pudding.
- Gratiné - Au gratin casserole with cream and breadcrumbs.
Key Takeaway: Jura cheeses beautifully complement the region’s charcuterie, wines and specialty produce like walnuts and honey.
Protecting Jura Cheeses
To protect their traditional cheeses from industrial production, the Jura’s small-scale cheesemakers have fought hard to get legal certification such as AOC and European PDO status for Comté, Morbier, Mont d'Or and Bleu de Gex cheeses.
These certifications strictly define key aspects before a cheese can be sold under the name. This includes the breed of cows, the pastures where they graze, their feed, the restricted geographic area of production, the methods used for processing the milk and aging the cheese, the minimum aging times and so on. Random inspections verify that cheese sold under these names adhere to all the traditional practices and high quality standards.
Such legal protections allow the fruitières of the Jura mountains to continue crafting their unique cheeses through time-honored artisanal methods rather than cutting costs by taking shortcuts with industrial production. This preserves the amazing depth of flavor and diversity we have come to expect from Jura’s fabulous cheeses.
FAQs
Why is raw milk important for Jura cheeses?
Raw milk from pasture-fed Montbéliarde cows contains the native microflora that impart subtle flavors reflecting the biodiversity of the Jura’s fields and forests. Heating milk kills these delicate bacterial cultures that contribute to the unique terroir of cheeses like Comté.
Why is Comté so popular and expensive?
Comté has gained global renown for its complex nutty, fruity flavors that intensify with aging. Made in limited quantities by strict traditional rules, more time and care goes into producing Comté compared to mass-market cheeses. This premium artisanal quality commands higher prices.
What is the grayish line through Morbier cheese?
The thin ash layer in Morbier harks back to old-fashioned cheesemaking methods. Curds from evening milk were separated from morning milk by a layer of ash to prevent mixing. Though no longer required, this remains a visual signature of Morbier.
Why is Mont d’Or cheese only available seasonally?
Mont d’Or can only be made between mid-August and mid-March when the cows return from high mountain pastures to spend winter in the valleys. Their late-lactation milk is exceptionally rich, ideal for crafting this decadently creamy cheese.
Does aging improve Jura cheeses?
Yes, aging for months and even years in the caves of the Jura mountains allows subtle flavors to intensify and become more complex over time. In general, the longer a Jura cheese like Comté is aged, the more intense, nutty and crystallized the flavor and texture becomes.
Conclusion
The unique traditional methods of the Jura produce some of France’s finest cheeses with robust flavors and textures.
Cheeses like the great Comté achieve worldwide fame among cheese fans.
But even lesser-known Jura cheeses like Morbier, Mont d’Or and Bleu de Gex deserve to be better appreciated.