List of French cheeses

This is a list of French cheeses documenting the varieties of cheeses, a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms, which are found in France. In 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle asked, "How can you govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?"[1] There is immense diversity within each variety of cheese, leading some to estimate between 1,000 and 1,600 distinct types of French cheese.[2] French cheeses are broadly grouped into eight categories, 'les huit familles de fromage'.[2]

Map of major AOC cheeses – the size of the symbol equates to the size of production

Protected designation of origin

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Under the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, certain established cheeses, including many French varieties, are covered by a protected designation of origin (PDO), and other, less stringent, designations of geographical origin for traditional specialities, such as the EU Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). The systems has largely replaced national systems, such as the French appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) system, as any cheese registered as a PDO or PGI can not use the designation AOC anymore in order to avoid confusion.[3]

French cheese production is classified under four categories, and PDO/PGI/(AOC) rules dictate which category or categories each protected cheese may be assigned to:[4]

  • Fermier: farmhouse cheese, which is produced on the farm where the milk is produced.
  • Artisanal: producer producing cheese in relatively small quantities using milk from their own farm, but may also purchase milk from local farms.
  • Coopérative: dairy with local milk producers in an area that have joined to produce cheese. In larger coopératives quantities of cheese produced may be relatively large, akin to some industriel producers (many may be classed as factory-made[5]).
  • Industriel: factory-made cheese from milk sourced locally or regionally, perhaps all over France (depending on the AOC/PDO regulations for specific cheeses).

Some cheeses are classified, protected, and regulated under French law. The majority are classified as Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC), the highest level of protection. Some are also protected under the less stringent but still legally regulated designation Label Régional (LR). A few French cheeses are protected under the European Union's Protected Geographic Indication designation (PGI). Many familiar generic types, like Boursin, are not covered, while others originally from other countries, such as Emmental cheese, may have certain varieties protected as a French cheese. This list differs from those of Chundi status.

CheeseYear designated appellationProducing regionType of milkDesignation
Abondance1990Haute-SavoieCowPDO
Banon2003Provence-Alpes-Côte d'AzurGoatPDO
Beaufort1968SavoieCowPDO
Bleu d'Auvergne1975AuvergneCowPDO
Bleu des Causses1979Midi-PyrénéesCowPDO
Bleu de Gex Haut-Jura / Bleu de Septmoncel1977Franche-ComtéCowPDO
Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage1998Rhône-AlpesCowPDO
Brie de Meaux1980Île-de-FranceCowPDO
Brie de Melun1980Île-de-FranceCowPDO
Brillat-Savarin2015BurgundyCowPGI
Brocciu Corse or Brocciu1983CorsicaSheepPDO
Brousse du Rove2018Le RoveGoatPDO
Cabécou1988Midi-PyrénéesGoatAOC
Cancoillotten/aFranche-ComtéCowLR
Cantal, Fourme de Cantal1956AuvergneCowPDO
Camembert de Normandie1983NormandyCowAOC
Cazelle de Saint Affriquen/aMidi-Pyrénées, Aveyron DepartmentSheepPDO
Chabichou du Poitou1990Poitou-CharentesGoatPDO
Chaource1970Champagne-ArdenneCowPDO
Charolais [fr]2010Charolais, FranceGoatPDO
Chevrotin2003SavoyGoatPDO
Comté1952Franche-ComtéCowPDO
Crottin de Chavignol/Chavignol1976Centre-Val de LoireGoatPDO
Emmental de Savoien/aSavoieCowPGI
Emmental français est-centraln/aFranche-ComtéCowPGI
Époisses1991BurgundyCowPDO
Fourme d'Ambert1972AuvergneCowPDO
Fourme de Montbrison1972AuvergneCowPDO
Gruyère2018[6]central eastern regionsCowPGI
Laguiole1961AuvergneCowPDO
Langres1991Champagne-ArdenneCowPDO
Livarot1972NormandyCowPDO
Mâconnais2006BurgundyGoatPDO
Maroilles or Marolles1976Nord-Pas-de-CalaisCowPDO
Mimoletten/aNord-Pas-de-CalaisCowLR
Mont d'or, or Vacherin Mont d'Or du Haut-Doubs2006Franche-ComtéCowPDO
Morbier2000Franche-ComtéCowPDO
Munster or Munster-Géromé1969Alsace and Vosges départements in LorraineCowPDO
Neufchâtel1969NormandyCowPDO
Ossau-lraty1980AquitaineSheepPDO
Pélardon2000Languedoc-RoussillonGoatPDO
Picodon1983Rhône-AlpesGoatPDO
Pont-l'Évêque1976NormandyCowPDO
Pouligny-Saint-Pierre1972Centre-Val de LoireGoatPDO
Raclette de Savoie [fr]2015Franche-ComtéCowPGI
Reblochon or Reblochon de Savoie1958Savoie and Haute-SavoieCowPDO
Rigotte de Condrieu2008LyonGoatPDO
Rocamadour1996Midi-PyrénéesGoatPDO
Roquefort1925Midi-PyrénéesSheepPDO
Sainte-Maure de Touraine1990Centre-Val de LoireGoatPDO
Saint-Marcellin2010Rhône-AlpesCowPGI
Saint-Nectaire1955AuvergneCowPDO
Saint-Félicienn/aRhône-AlpesCowLR
Salers1979AuvergneCowPDO
Selles-sur-Cher1975Centre-Val de LoireGoatPDO
Soumaintrain (fr)2014SoumaintrainCow[7]PGI
Tome des Bauges2002SavoieCowPDO
Tome fraîchen/aAuvergne and AubracCowAOC
Tomme de Savoien/aSavoieCowPGI
Tomme des Pyrénéesn/aMidi-PyrénéesCowPGI
Trou du Crun/aBurgundy, Côte-d'Or DepartmentCowAOC
Valençay1998Centre-Val de LoireGoatPDO
Cheese seller in France

Other cheeses

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Les Mots du Général, Ernest Mignon (1962))
  2. ^ a b "Quelles sont les grandes familles de fromages? – Module fromage – Sommaire – Tout savoir sur le fromage – Fromages et Nutrition – Institut Fromages & Santé". Institut-fromages-et-sante.com. 2009-02-25. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  3. ^ "L'Appellation d'origine protégée; L'Appellation d'origine contrôlée" (PDF). INAO (in French).
  4. ^ Masui, T.; Tomoko, Y.; Hodgson, R.; Robuchon, J. (2004). French Cheeses. DK. ISBN 1-4053-0666-1.
  5. ^ Barthélemy, Roland; Sperat-Czar, Arnaud (2004). Cheeses of the world. Hachette Illustrated (London). ISBN 1-84430-115-X.
  6. ^ "Gruyère". European Union. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Official Journal C 47/2016". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
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