PrintA Cheese for the Season: Vacherin Mont d'Or
I'm not much a fan of winter in New York. The farmers' market in Union Square is all but shuttered, the weather tends more toward wintry mix than winter wonderland, and night falls even before the local news has kicked off. But there's one thing I look forward to every winter, something that's only available when the temperature drops below 60. I'm speaking of course of Vacherin Mont d'Or, also known as Vacherin du Haut Doubs—a pungently delicious washed-rind cow's milk cheese from the Jura mountains of Switzerland and France.
Not to be confused with its far less interesting near-namesake Vacherin Fribourgeois, Vacherin Mont d'Or is an A.O.C.-protected cheese made with late-season cow's milk not plentiful enough to make the larger format cheeses of the region: Comté or Gruyère. Made with either raw or thermalized milk, Vacherin's texture is soft to the point of being runny, and is so delicate that each small wheel is wrapped in spruce bark and shipped in its own wooden box. Some say the spruce lends a resinous character to the flavor of the cheese, which is otherwise quite tangy, nutty and earthy.
The big downside is the price (especially nowadays with the euro so much stronger than the dollar). There are only 12 A.O.C. producers of the cheese in Switzerland, and since the product itself is predicated on the scarcity of milk in the late summer and early autumn months, the price can be astonishingly high. DiBruno Bros. in Philadelphia carries a 1.5-pound wheel for $49.99. But I think it's worth it. Full-flavored and high in fat and protein, a little bit of this wonderful cheese certainly goes a long way.
Photo of Vacherin Mont d'Or from Wikimedia Commons
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6 Comments:
"Wintry mix"?! With 69°F weather predicted for today? Heh. Nice piece, Jamie. Unfortunate timing with weather, tho. ;)
Adam Kuban at 10:56AM on 01/08/08
@Adam: LOL, I should've posted this last week! Oh well, I'm sure there will be some more "wintry mixes" down the road.
jamieforrest at 11:33AM on 01/08/08
OMG, that cheese looks TDF. I'm going to jot down the name and hope that it becomes available at Whole Foods in Tampa. :D
chiff0nade at 1:14PM on 01/08/08
Truly one of the great cheeses of the world. Its availability is limited and seasonal. In first rate cheese shops, you might want to ask for Rolf Beeler's Försterkäse, a cheese that is very close to Vacherin Mont d'Or.
The French side tends to make the cheese from raw milk, on the Swiss side, thermalized milk is used. Purists don't accept cheese made this way as a true lait cru cheese.
In any case, your money is well spent on this unique delicacy.
epices6 at 2:56PM on 01/08/08
Just bought my annual Vacherin in Vancouver: $38.90 for 500 grams. Will serve it fondue-style, baked with garlic cloves and white wine. Yum.
mendicity at 8:18PM on 01/08/08
I should add that Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont makes a seasonal cheese akin to Vacherin Mont d'Or called Winnemere. It's quite good, but also can be hard to find.
jamieforrest at 10:46PM on 01/08/08