Last fall for the American Cheese Month events at Blue Haven Bee and Lavonia Downtown Development Authority Business Expo, Tara Sabitini ACS CCP, kindly donated some of the cheeses for the events, one of which was Cantal AOP . At the time Tara ran the cheese program for Swiss American. Now she has joined Atlanta’s Gourmet Foods International. (Our thanks to Swiss American for their generosity in supporting our event.)
Cantal is a protected cheese produced in France and is one of the oldest cheeses of France, predating both Roquefort and Livarot. Pliny The Elder (1st Century) mentioned it in his writings. Cantal is produced in the Auvergne region of France and named after the Cantal Mountains.
You can purchase Cantal AOP online by clicking here.
As a protected cheese, the production is controlled under the Appellation d’Origine Controlee certificate granted to this cheese in 1956. (In 1996, the EU folded this cheese into its DOOR system and granted it the PDO designation.) AOP, AOC, PGI and PDO designations are granted to wines, cheeses, butter and other agriculture products of France. The concept of the AOP/AOC designation is based on the concept of terroir under the auspices of the government bureau, Institut national des appellations d’origine (INAO) to protect the production of France’s traditional foods. Through its reach, the AOP/AOC/PDO designation helps the small farmer stay in business and not be squeezed out by “Big Cheese” or “Big Wine”, etc.
As an aside, currently the producers of Camembert de Normandie AOP are fighting Big Cheese which in 2021 is scheduled to procure the AOC designation for a pasteurized version of Camembert. Currently the AOC/AOP regulations require Camembert AOP must be made exclusively using raw milk. You can read about the controversy here.
Back to Cantal… Cantal is produced from the fall and winter milk (November 15 to April 15th) of the Salers cow. During these months, the cows are fed hay. The summer milk when the cows are on pasture is used to produce Salers AOP, which is similar to Cantal.
Cantal is an uncooked cheese, pressed twice to produce a firm pate. It is aged between 3 and 6 months before release, increasing its flavor profile as it ages . A third variety, Cantal vieux, is aged longer than six months with a pronounced robust flavor profile. Cantal vieux is rarely exported but reserved for local enjoyment.
Cantal is often the cheese of choice in the French potato dish, Aligot. I first learned of Aligot while reading Tia Keenan’s most recent book, Stretch and Sizzle, and knew immediately I had to get to know this dish. When my friends Erin Harris ACS CCP, The Cheese Poet and Tina Mooney ACS CCP,Owner of Ft. Collins’ Fox and Crow, were in Paris last fall, they shared a dinner that included Aligot. I’ll be in Paris in early July this year and Aligot is at the top of my “Must Do” list.
Cantal is a milky, mild cheese with a nutty finish. I would consider this a kid-friendly cheese and to borrow a Liz Thorpe phrase from her The Book of Cheese, it’s an excellent “Gateway Cheese” to some of the full-flavored traditional cheddars made by Mary Quicke, Keen’s and Jamie Montgomery.
Most of the Cantal imported into the United States is made with pasteurized milk. Cantal is not vegetarian-suitable because an animal rennet is used to coagulate the milk. The raw milk version will have a green rubber tag attached to each wheel and the tag on the pasteurized version will be brown.
You can purchase Cantal AOP online by clicking here.
My friend, Allin Tallmadge ACS CCP, thought you might enjoy this short 4 minute video about Cantal and four other AOP cheeses from the Auvergne region:
In addition to being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am 
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