Comté (also called Gruyère de Comté) is a French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France. The following is a list of cheeses from France. ... Capital Besançon Area 16,202 km² Regional President Raymond Forni ( PS) (since 2004) Population   - 2004 estimate   - 1999 census   - Density (Ranked 20th) 1,133,000 1,117,059 70/km² (2004) Arrondissements 8 Cantons 116 Communes 1,786 Départements Doubs Haute-Saône Jura Territoire de Belfort Franche-Comt...

Comté has the highest production figures of all French cheeses, making around 40,000 tonnes annually. Its name is French for 'county', and is named after the Franche-Comté region.

The cheese are made in flat circular discs, each between 40 and 70 centimetres in diameter, and around 10 centimetres in height. Each weighs up to 50 kilograms. The fat content is around 45%.

The rind is usually a dusty-brown colour, and the internal pâte is a pale creamy yellow. The texture is relatively hard and flexible, and the taste is mild, slightly sweet, and 'nutty'.

History

The manufacture of the cheese began as early as the 12th century, when shepherds would spend the summer months in their remote huts of the Jura massif. The distance from towns of any size meant that any cheese they made would need to mature over a period of months. The milk was pooled between neighbouring shepherds, and the huge cheeses would be stored until being carried to market at the end of the season. The Jura folds are located North of the main Alpine orogenic front, and are being continually deformed, accommodating the northwards compression due to Alpine folding. ...

Once summer had ended, so would production of Comté, with the cows' milk instead being used to make Vacherin Mont d'Or. ...

Eight départements are now entitled to produce the cheese, each of which surrounds Franche-Comté, and also including parts of Burgundy, Rhône-Alpes and Lorraine. Capital Besançon Area 16,202 km² Regional President Raymond Forni ( PS) (since 2004) Population   - 2004 estimate   - 1999 census   - Density (Ranked 20th) 1,133,000 1,117,059 70/km² (2004) Arrondissements 8 Cantons 116 Communes 1,786 Départements Doubs Haute-Saône Jura Territoire de Belfort Franche-Comt... Coat of arms of the 2nd duchy of Burgundy and later of the French province of Burgundy Burgundy ( French: Bourgogne) is a historic region of France, inhabited in turn by Pre-Indo-European people, Celts ( Gauls), Romans ( Gallo-Romans), and various Germanic peoples, most importantly the Burgundians and the Franks. ... Capital Lyon Area 43,698 km² Regional President Jean-Jack Queyranne ( PS) (since 2004) Population   - 2004 estimate   - 1999 census   - Density (Ranked 2nd) 5,893,000 5,645,407 135/km² (2004) Arrondissements 25 Cantons 335 Communes 2,879 Départements Ain Ardèche Drôme Isère Loire Rhône... Capital Metz Area 23,547 km² Regional President Jean-Pierre Masseret Population  - 2005 estimate  - 1999 census  - Density 2,310,376 98/km² Arrondissements 19 Cantons 157 Communes 2,337 Départements Meurthe-et-Moselle Meuse Moselle Vosges Lorraine ( German: Lothringen) is a historical area in present-day northeast France. ...

Production

Fresh from the farm, milk is poured into huge vats where it is gently warmed. Rennet, or another natural pressing agent is added causing the milk to coagulate. The curds are then cut into tiny white grains that are then stirred before being heated again for around 30 minutes. The contents are then placed into moulds and the whey is pressed out. Rennet, also called rennin or chymosin (EC 3. ... Curd is a dairy product obtained by curdling (coagulating) milk with rennet or an edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar and then draining off the liquid portion (called whey). ... Whey or milk plasma is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained; it is a by-product of cheese or casein making with several commercial uses. ...

After several hours the mould is opened and left to mature in cellars, first for a few weeks at the dairy, and then over several months elsewhere.

The manufacture of Comté has been controlled by AOC regulations since it became one of the first cheeses to receive AOC recognition in 1958, with full regulations introduced in 1976. Appellation dOrigine Contrôlée (AOC), which roughly translates as term of origin is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, by the government bureau Institut National des Appellations dOrigine (INAO). ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The AOC regulations state that:

• Only milk from Montbéliard cows are permitted, and each must have at least a hectare of grazing.
• Fertilization is limited, and cows may only be fed fresh, natural feed, with no silage.
• The milk must be transported to the site of production immediately after milking.
• Renneting must be carried out within a stipulated time after milking, according to the storage temperature of the cheese.
• Only one heating of the milk may occur, and that must be during renneting. It may be heated to no more than 40C.
• Salt may only be applied directly to the surface of the cheese.
• A casein label containing the date of production must be attached to the side of the cheese, and maturing must continue for at least four months.
• No grated cheese may be sold under the Comté name.

Each cheese takes up to 600 litres of milk to produce. Montbéliard (German Mömpelgard) is a commune in the Doubs département, in eastern France. ... A hectare (symbol ha) is a metric unit of surface area, equal to 100 ares (the name is a contraction of the SI prefix hecto + are). ... Categories: Biology stubs ... See Casein paint for information about casein usage in artistic painting. ...

Grading

Each cheese is awarded a score out of 20 by inspectors, according to 'overall appearance' (1 mark), 'quality of rind' (1.5), 'internal appearance' (3.5), 'texture' (5), and taste (9). Those scoring 15 or above are given green casein labels (with the characteristic image of a bell), with 12-15 being given red labels. Any cheese scoring under 3 marks for taste, or under 12 overall is prohibited from being named Comté and is instead sold as Gruyère. Gruyère cheese Gruyère cheese is a yellow cheese made from cows milk. ...

External links

• comte.com (http://www.comte.com/)