This is a list of French cheeses documenting the varieties of
cheese
Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
s, a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms, which are found in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. In 1962, French President
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
asked, "How can you govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?" There is immense diversity within each variety of cheese, leading some to estimate between 1,000 and 1,600 distinct types of French cheese.
French cheeses are broadly grouped into eight categories, 'les huit familles de fromage'.
Protected designation of origin
Under the
Common Agricultural Policy
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Commission. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce ...
of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, certain established cheeses, including many French varieties, are covered by a
protected designation of origin
The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main purpose is to designat ...
(PDO), and other, less stringent, designations of geographical origin for traditional specialities, such as the EU
Protected Geographical Indication
Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and Traditional food, traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG), promote ...
(PGI). The systems has largely replaced national systems, such as the French
appellation d'origine contrôlée
In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...
(AOC) system, as any cheese registered as a PDO or PGI can not use the designation AOC anymore in order to avoid confusion.
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:
* 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
).
*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
Emmental, Emmentaler, or Emmenthal is a yellow, medium-hard cheese that originated in the Emme Valley in Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type cheese.
History
Emmental cheese originates from the Emme Valley in Switzerland.
It has a ...
, may have certain varieties protected as a French cheese. This list differs from those of Chundi status.
Other cheeses
*
Abbaye de Belloc
*
Abbaye de Tamié
*
Abbaye de Timadeuc Cheese
*
Affidélice
*
Autun
Autun () is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the e ...
*
Avalin
*
Babybel
*
Baguette laonnaise
*
Bilou
*
Blanc à fromage - Vosges
*
Bleu de Bresse
*
Bleu de Termignon
*
Bon Grivois
*
Boulette d'Avesnes
*
Boursin cheese
*
Brie
Brie ( ; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie (itself from Gaulish ''briga'', "hill, height"), the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in colour with a slight gre ...
*
Brie
Brie ( ; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie (itself from Gaulish ''briga'', "hill, height"), the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in colour with a slight gre ...
Noir (Black Brie)
*
Brillat-Savarin
*
Broccio Passu
*
Bucheron
*
Cabécou
*
Cabrinu
*
Cabriou
*
Cachaille
*
Cacouyard
*
Callebasse
*
Camembert du Calvados - Normandie
*
Cancoillotte
*
Caprice des Dieux
*
Canut
*
Carré de l'Est - Lorraine
*
Cathare
*
Chamois d'or
*
Chaource
*
Chatou
Chatou () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the ÃŽle-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. Chatou is a part of the affluent suburbs of western Paris and is on the northwest ...
*
Chaubier
*
Chaumes
*
Chevillon - Haute-Marne
*
Citeaux - Burgundy
*
Coulommiers
*
Coutances
*
Délice de Bourgogne
*
Délice du Calvados
*
Doux de Montagne
*
Ecorce de sapin
*
Édel de Cléron
*
Epenouse
*
Explorateur
*
Faisselle
*
Fédou
*
Feuille de Dreux
*
Feuille du Limousin
*
Ficello
*
Figou
*
Fromage blanc
''Fromage blanc'' (; ; also known as ''maquée'') is a fresh cheese similar to cream cheese originating from the north of France and southern Belgium. The name means "white cheese" in French language, French. ''Fromage frais'' ("fresh cheese") di ...
*
Fromage frais
*
Fromager d'Affinois
*
Fougerus
*
Foudjou
*
Fourme d’Asco
*
Fourme de Cantal
*
Gaperon
*
Gros Lorrain - Vosges
*
La Vache qui Rit
*
Lavort
*
Mamirollais
*
Mamirolle
*
Metton
*
Mont des Cats
*
Mottin charentais
*
Mousseron
*
Niolo
*
Olivet cendré
*
Ortolan
*
P'tit Basque - Pyrenees
*
P'tit Louis
*
Pavé d'Auge - Normandy
*
Pavé d'Isigny - Normandy
*
Pavin
*
Perail
*
Pérassu
*
Port Salut
Port Salut () is a semi-soft pasteurised cow's milk cheese from Pays de la Loire, France, with a distinctive orange rind and a mild flavour. The cheese is produced in wheels approximately 23 cm (9 inches) in diameter, weighing approx ...
*
Raclette
Raclette (, ) is a dish of Swiss cuisine, Swiss origin, also popular in the other Alpine countries (France, Italy, Germany, Austria), based on heating cheese and scraping off the melted part, then typically served with boiled potatoes. Raclette i ...
*
Rochebarron
*
Roucoulons
*
Roue de Brielove
*
Saint Agur
*
Saint Albray
*
Saint-André
*
Saint-Paulin
*
Saint-Rémy
*
Spinosien
*
Tarentais
*
Tome d'Arles
*
Tome de la Brigue
*
Tome de la Vésubie
*
Tome des Bauges - Savoie, Haute-Savoie
*
Tomme au Fenouil
*
Tomme Boudane
*
Tomme Butone
*
Tomme de Lévéjac
*
Tomme du Jura
*
Tomme du Revard
*
Toucy
Toucy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, in the historical region of Puisaye.
Personalities
John Law (economist), John Law purchased the estate o ...
*
Tourrée de l'aubier
*
Tracle
*
Trappista
*
Trèfle
*
Tricorne de Marans
*
Trinqueux
*
U Muntagnolu
*
Vallé d'Ossau
*
Velay
Velay () is a historical area of France situated in the east Haute-Loire ''Département in France, département'' and southeast of Massif central, Massif Central.
History
Julius Caesar mentioned the vellavi as the subordinate of the arverni. ...
*
Venaco
*
Vesontio
*
Vieux-Boulogne
*
Vieux Samer
*
Void
*
Xaintray
See also
*
List of cheeses
This is a list of cheeses by place of origin. Cheese is a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms. Hundreds of types of cheese from various countries are produced. Their styles, textures and flavors dep ...
*
List of cheesemakers
Notes
External links
Pictures Gallery of French Cheese (and some others)Pictures and detailed information on French Cheese
{{French cuisine
French
Cheese
Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
+FranceList_of_French_cheeses