There are three things left on my personal bucket list: 1.) To read the Amazon 100 Books You Must Read; 2.) To cash at a World Series of Poker event and 3.) To Eat French Cheese in France.
- I am working my way through the 100 books; I have about 35 to go…
- My poker playing skills continue to improve and hope springs eternal even in poker.
- Eating French cheese in France will occur on July 3rd… not on the list is that I will also be eating local Alpine cheese in Switzerland next Monday, July 1.
The good folks at Comte Cheese Association have invited me to join them on a tour of their farms, cheesemaking facilities and aging caves in the Franche-Comte region of France in the Jura Mountains. A small group of cheese professionals/influencers and travel influencers meet July 3rd in Geneva and venture into the Jura Mountains for a cheese and culture excursion. And eat French cheeses in France!!
We will visit several farms; meet the cows who are the true cheese makers, the human makers of the cheese wheels once the cows have finished their work for the day and the caves where the Affineurs age the cheese and determine when it is ready for the market. Did I mention there will be cheese?
You can purchase a selection of Comte AOP by clicking here.
Comte AOP is a “protected” cheese which means the EU and the Comte Association set-up criteria for the cheese to bear the name Comte. The criteria include the region where the cheese can be made (the Jura and Doubs departments in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comte region of France); the cows which provide the milk for making Comte ( Montbeliarde and French Simmental breeds are the only authorized breeds); the cheese must be aged for a minimum of 120 days; fermented feed is prohibited as part of the cows’ diet. The complete list of criteria can be found here. For more information on Comte AOP Cheese, subscribe to their quarterly newsletter.
In 2013 I attended a Comte AOP seminar that explored the terroir aspects of Com
te. Three Comte AOP wedges, from three different farms were sampled. The milk came from the same breeds, made using the same recipe per the AOP criteria and aged at the same facility. The difference: the farms were at different locations in the Juras and at different altitudes. The plants growing at the three farms differed and that created differences in the taste of each cheese. Comte created a flavor wheel that explores 83 different flavor profiles reflecting the different nuances in taste.
Comte is the number one selling AOP cheese in France. With Emmental, Comte AOP is my preferred cheese for fondue. I use Comte AOP to make a mac n cheese that leaves The Man swooning and for grilled cheese, it is the melter of all melters. Comte AOP is versatile and I include it in most cheese platters that I create for my clients.
You can purchase a selection of Comte AOP by clicking here.
In addition to learning about Comte AOP, we will also explore the area, taking a cruise on Lac Saint Point and visiting an organic absinthe producer.
Also on this adventure will be John Hannon, ACS CCP, winner of the 2019 Comte ACS CCP Essay Contest; Annette White, author of Bucket List Adventures; Marilyn Jones of TravelWithMarilyn.com; Claire Matern of ACheesemongersDaughter.com and our gracious hosts from Comte Cheese Association.
I’ll be posting a re-cap every evening here on my website and sharing pictures throughout each day (as Wi-Fi permits) on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Please join me on this once-in-a-lifetime trip.
After the tour, I will spend a week in Paris… eating cheese…
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 available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
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All photos used in this article are the property of Comte USA and copyrighted to them.
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