Dairy
Mont d'Or
Mont d'Or (Vacherin du Haut-Doubs in France; related to Swiss Vacherin Mont-d'Or) is a seasonal soft cow’s-milk cheese bound in a strip of spruce bark (sangle) that perfumes the oozing, spoonable paste. Made only in cooler months from mountain milk, it is rich, resinous, and mildly tangy under a bloomy to lightly washed ivory rind. It is classically baked in its box until molten and scooped with bread and potatoes, or eaten ripe with a spoon. French PDO and Swiss AOP rules fix winter production, spruce banding, and Jura mountain zones—one of the Alps’ most luxurious soft cheeses.
Also known as: Mont d'Or / Vacherin du Haut-Doubs AOP, Vacherin Mont-d'Or AOP
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History
Jura herders made soft winter cheeses when milk was too scarce for large hard wheels such as Comté.
Spruce-bark banding of soft mountain cheeses became established in the Haut-Doubs and neighbouring Swiss valleys.
French AOC for Vacherin du Haut-Doubs / Mont d'Or protected seasonal spruce-bound production.
Swiss Vacherin Mont-d'Or gained parallel origin protection for the Jura vaudois side of the tradition.
EU PDO status reinforced French Mont d'Or’s geography, raw milk, and winter-only make.
Baked Mont d'Or service spread widely in restaurants, raising seasonal demand each autumn and winter.