Reblochon in 4 seasons | Le Grand Bornand

Savoie Reblochon, much more than just a cheese…

Le Grand-Bornand is the largest farming community in Haute-Savoie and the birthplace of farmhouse Reblochon. Since it first appeared here in the 13th century, Reblochon has been a favourite with gourmets and food-lovers alike… and with good reason: farmhouse Reblochon with its green casein label – which differs from dairy Reblochon made in cooperatives, which has a red label – has gone to great lengths to preserve the traditional skills that guarantee its inimitable taste, while adapting them to modern constraints: It is made twice a day in the same place as milking, using milk from a single herd of mainly Abundance cows, and fed exclusively on grass in summer and hay in winter. So much for the quality of this cream cheese… served on a platter!

©Alpine descent October 2022 J.cathala Ot Le Grand Bornand 1

Le Grand-Bornand is home to 2,000 cows for just over a million inhabitants, and more than a third of the PDO area’s annual production of farmhouse Reblochon cheese… all year round.

©Reblochon J.cathala Ot Le Grand Bornand|© J. Cathala

Its origin

In the 13th century, farmers paid their landlords according to the amount of milk they produced in a day. At the time of the inspection, the farmer would ingeniously carry out an incomplete milking in order to pay less rent. As soon as the inspector left, he would do a second milking. The milk thus obtained was probably not very plentiful, but very rich in cream, ideal for making cheese.
Reblochon owes its name to this little fraud, known locally as “Rebloche”, because in local dialect “Re-blocher” means to pinch the cow’s udders a second time.

Dairy Reblochon and farmhouse Reblochon

The milkman :

the cheese is made once a day
the milk used is collected from several farms
production can be mechanised
the cheese is made in a cooperative or cheese dairy within 24 hours of milking
Reblochon cheese has a red casein tablet

Farmhouse :

the cheese is made twice a day, just after milking
the milk used comes from a single herd, the herd of each farm producer
the cheese is made entirely by hand
the cheese is made on the farm directly after milking
Reblochon has a green casein tablet and a Reblochon fermier logo on its packaging

©43aravis Tvattard Reblochon H20|© TILBY VATTARD

what you need to know

a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) since 1958
Only 3 breeds of cow are authorised to produce Reblochon milk: Abondance, Montbéliarde and Tarine. They are fed mainly on grass and hay (from the PDO area, supplemented with GMO-free cereals).
In winter, the producers and their cows stay at the foot of the mountains in the “ferme d’en bas”, and in spring they travel to the “ferme d’en haut” in the mountain pastures for 4 to 5 months.
It takes around 4 litres of milk to make 1 cheese weighing between 450 and 550g.
The milk comes out of the cow at 35°C and is made into cheese directly after milking, even before it has had a chance to cool down.
After milking, from curdling to ripening, 8 stages are necessary to make the cheese.
reblochon cheese contains just 27% fat!

All you need to know about Reblochon

©40aravis Tvattard Reblochon H20d|© TILBY VATTARD

©E17 195 Agriculture B.delerue Le Grand Bornand

©Cow Pointe Percee C. Chabod Le Grand Bornand Tourism

©50aravis Reblochon Tvattard E20|© TILBY VATTARD

Our recipes based on Savoie Reblochon cheese

Savoy Reblochon cheese is the perfect accompaniment to many recipes, whether raw or cooked, sweet or savoury. It can be enjoyed in summer and winter alike, and its full-bodied flavour is equally at home with raw vegetables, gingerbread or a creamy asparagus soup. This typical mountain cheese can be enjoyed at any time of year:

In winter, in a reblochonnade, tartiflette, risotto, macaroni gratin or burger.
In spring, in stuffed courgettes, fresh sandwiches, spring salads, makis or coleslaw.
In summer, in picorettes and verrines for the aperitif, a Reblochon mousse or an escabeche of sunny vegetables.
In autumn, in a pizza with melting Reblochon cheese, a sweet potato tart, a kale wok or stuffed aubergines.