Mont d'Or

Or the box cheese

The oldest texts which have come down to us indicate that this cheese was already being produced under Louis XV. Mont d’Or or used to be called “box cheese”.

It seems to have been invented by the farmers of the Mont d’Or massif. Since then, it has remained a traditional cheese, made from milk produced by Montbéliard cattle only.

The curd, which is produced using rennet, is turned out of its mould and encircled with a strap made out of spruce bark. It is then left to age in a cellar on a slap of spruce before being placed in a box to continue maturing for another three weeks.

It is the blend of the wood and the cheese which gives Mont d’Or its unique flavour. It is only to be found in the autumn and the winter, because it can only be produced between 15 August and 31 March.