🧀 Reblochon

Reblochon is a French uncooked pressed cheese made from whole raw cow's milk in the mountains of Haute-Savoie and part of Savoie. The names Reblochon and Reblochon de Savoie have been protected in the EU as a PDO since 1996. According to the specification, the name comes from the word reblâche, "to milk a second time". ¹²⁴

Where the name comes from. As early as the 13th century, a farmer renting an alpine pasture paid the owner according to how much milk he got. So the cows were at first not milked out fully and then milked a second time: there was little milk, but it was very rich, because the end of milking gives the fattiest milk, and small creamy cheeses were made from it. ⁴

The area and the cows. The area lies in the northern Alps between Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc, with massifs from 1,000 to over 4,000 m and valleys above 500 m, and a mountain climate with plenty of rain. The milk comes only from Abondance, Montbéliarde and Tarentaise cows, which graze for at least 150 days a year; feed from the area must make up the whole basic ration, or at least 75% on farms above 600 m. Silage is banned, and concentrates are limited to 1,800 kg per cow a year. ³⁴

The milk. Cows are milked twice a day at least 8 hours apart, and the milk is kept at no more than 10 °C. It is used raw and whole, with no standardisation, microfiltration or freezing, and no cream added or removed. Only starters, salt, calcium chloride and calf rennet are allowed, and the rind may be coloured only with carotene or annatto. ⁴

How it is made. Rennet is added at 30–35 °C, and the milk sets in 10–20 minutes in open vats of up to 6,000 litres; only milk from at most the last two milkings is used. The curd is put into moulds 13–14 cm across and each cheese is pressed separately under a 1.5–2 kg weight for at least an hour and a half. It is salted by hand with fine salt or in brine. ⁴

Ripening. Until day 4 the cheese stays in a drying room at 14–21 °C and over 90% humidity, where it must be washed, and then ripens in a cellar at 10–15 °C until day 12. After that it is either packed and kept at 6 °C or more until day 18, or left in the cellar until day 16. Yeasts, Geotrichum, micrococci and coryneform bacteria follow one another on the rind and give it its typical look. ⁴

Appearance and composition. A flat cylinder about 14 cm across, 3.5 cm high and weighing 450–550 g; the small petit is 9 cm, 3 cm and 230–280 g. The rind is thin, yellow to orange-yellow, with a fine short white bloom, and the paste is very soft, even, supple and creamy. Fat is at least 45 g per 100 g of dry matter, and dry matter at least 45 g per 100 g of cheese. ³⁴

Farmhouse and dairy. Farmhouse Reblochon is made on the farm itself or on the alpine pasture twice a day, straight after milking and without chilling the milk, on farms producing under 500,000 litres of milk a year; the curd is cut, moulded in linen or cotton cloth and turned by hand. ⁴ In 2024, 15,775 tonnes of Reblochon were sold, 2,376 tonnes of it farmhouse, making it France's second-largest farmhouse cheese appellation after Saint-Nectaire. ⁵

Reblochon or Brie, Camembert, Taleggio? Searches often pair them, so compare by method rather than by looks. Reblochon is an uncooked pressed cheese made only from raw whole milk of Abondance, Montbéliarde and Tarentaise cows grazing at least 150 days a year, with no silage, standardisation or microfiltration. Each cheese is pressed separately, the rind is washed in the drying room, and ripening lasts at least 15 days from renneting. For any other cheese, check its own specification and label.

Look for the name “Reblochon” or “Reblochon de Savoie” with the EU PDO symbol (protected designation of origin; in France “AOP”). The name must be at least two thirds the size of the largest letters on the label. Genuine cheese carries a casein mark on one face with the dairy's number and a serial number, and the farmhouse and dairy marks differ. Portions are sold only with rind on three sides. You will find it at a supermarket cheese counter or a cheesemonger.

Why it matters to you. Genuine Reblochon has a casein mark on one face with the dairy's number and a serial number, and the marks differ for farmhouse and dairy cheese. The name on the label must be at least two-thirds the size of the largest letters, with the AOP logo beside it, and portions are sold only with rind on three sides. ⁴