This is a list of French cheeses documenting the varieties of

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges 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 productio ...

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 primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In 1962, French President

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

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 Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce the ...

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 located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, 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 and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...

(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 specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG), promote and protect nam ...

. The systems has largely replaced national systems, such as the French

appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...

(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 area around Emmental, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese. Emmental was first mentioned in written rec ...

, may have certain varieties protected as a French cheese. This list differs from those of

AOC Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...

status.

Other cheeses

Abbaye de Belloc Abbaye de Belloc ( eu, Belokeko Abadia) is a French Pyrenees, traditional farmhouse, semi-hard cheese from the Pays Basque region, made from unpasteurized sheep milk, with a fat content of 60%. The cheese is still made in the traditional manner ...

* Abbaye de Tamié * Abbaye de Timadeuc Cheese * Affidélice *

Autun Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...

* Avalin * Babybel *

Baguette laonnaise Baguette laonnaise, losange, dauphin or baguette Thiérache, is a variation of Maroilles cheese, a type of washed-rind cheese made from cow's milk. It originates from the region of Thiérache as well as the city of Laon, Picardie, France. The che ...

* Bilou *

Bleu de Bresse Bleu de Bresse () is a blue cheese that was first made in the Bresse area of France following World War II. Made from whole milk, it has a firm, edible coating which is characteristically white in color and has an aroma of mushrooms. Its creamy ...

* Bleu de Termignon * Bon Grivois *

Boulette d'Avesnes Maroilles (; also known as Marolles, or simply known as Maroilles) is a cow's-milk cheese made in the regions of Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais in northern France. It derives its name from the village of Maroilles in the region in which it is st ...

Boursin cheese Boursin is a brand of Gournay cheese. It is a soft creamy cheese available in a variety of flavours, with a flavour and texture somewhat similar to cream cheese. The first Boursin flavour, Garlic and Fine Herbs, was created in 1957 by Franç ...

Brie Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern ''département'' of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mo ...

Noir (Black Brie) *

Brillat-Savarin Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (; 1 April 1755, Belley, Ain – 2 February 1826, Paris) was a French lawyer and politician, who, as the author of ''The Physiology of Taste'' (''Physiologie du Goût''), gained fame as an epicure and gastronome: ...

* Broccio Passu * Bucheron *

Cabécou Cabécou is a soft goat cheese that comes from the Midi-Pyrénées region of southern France. It has a thin striped rind and after two weeks its crust grows blue mold changing its taste. It is one of Aquitaine's most famous foods. Aquitaine is a ...

* Cabrinu * Cabriou * Cachaille * Cacouyard * Callebasse *

Cancoillotte ''Cancoillotte'' or ''cancoyotte'' is a runny French cheese made from metton cheese, and produced principally in Franche-Comté, but also Lorraine and Luxembourg, where it is also called ''Kachkéis'' or ''Kochkäse'' in German (cooked cheese). ...

Canut The canuts () were Lyonnais silk workers, often working on Jacquard looms. They were primarily found in the Croix-Rousse neighbourhood of Lyon in the 19th century. Although the term generally refers to Lyonnais silk workers, silk workers in the ...

Carré de l'Est Carré de l'Est is a French cheese originating from Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Nort ...

Cathare Cathare is a goat's milk cheese from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. The cheese comes in flat discs whose face is covered in charcoal powder with the Occitan cross inscribed. Under the rind, Cathare is pure white with a soft, cream ...

Chamois d'or The chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Alps, the Dinarides, the Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Ri ...

Chaource Chaource () is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. A cheese is named after this town. See Chaource cheese. In the Chaource parish church there is a sculpture by The Maitre de Chaource. Population See also * Communes ...

Chatou Chatou () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Chatou is a part of the affluent suburbs of western Paris and is on the northwest side of the Seine river about from the city's center. ...

Chaubier Chaubier is a washed rind French Cheese made from half goat's milk and half cow's milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed huma ...

Chaumes Chaumes is a cow's milk cheese from Saint-Antoine-de-Breuilh in the Périgord (South West of France), made by traditional cheese-making processes. Translated literally, "chaumes" is French for ''stubble''. Based upon traditional Trappist-style ...

* Coulommiers *

Coutances Coutances () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. History Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of ''Constantia'' in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chloru ...

Délice de Bourgogne Délice de Bourgogne is a French cow's milk cheese from the Burgundy (French region), Burgundy region of France. It was first created in 1975 by Jean Lincet at Fromagerie Lincet. It is a ''soft-ripened triple-cream cheese''. The creamy texture res ...

* Délice du Calvados *

Doux de Montagne Doux may refer to: * Doux, Ardennes, a French commune in the Ardennes department * Doux, Deux-Sèvres, a French commune in the Deux-Sèvres department * Doux (river), a tributary of the Rhône in southern France * Doux (wine), a variety of spar ...

* Ecorce de sapin *

Édel de Cléron Édel de Cléron is a traditional French cheese of relatively recent origin which carries the name of the village where it is made, Cléron, in the valley of the Loue of the Doubs department in Franche-Comté. * By its taste, form and texture, it ...

* Epenouse *

Explorateur L'Explorateur is a soft-ripened French triple cream cow's-milk cheese made in the Île-de-France region of France.

* Faisselle * Fédou * Feuille de Dreux * Feuille du Limousin * Ficello * Figou *

Fromage blanc ''Fromage blanc'' (; ; also known as ''maquée'') is a fresh cheese originating from the north of France and southern Belgium. The name means "white cheese" in French. ''Fromage frais'' ("fresh cheese") differs from ''fromage blanc'' in that, acc ...

Fromage frais ''Fromage blanc'' (; ; also known as ''maquée'') is a fresh cheese originating from the north of France and southern Belgium. The name means "white cheese" in French. ''Fromage frais'' ("fresh cheese") differs from ''fromage blanc'' in that, acc ...

* Fromager d'Affinois * Fougerus * Foudjou * Fourme d’Asco * Fourme de Cantal * Gaperon * La Vache qui Rit * Lavort * Mamirollais * Mamirolle *

Metton ''Metton'' is a runny French cheese made in Franche-Comté, mostly used as an ingredient for making Cancoillotte. The traditional process to produce Cancoillotte with metton is to cook it in an earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed non ...

Mont des Cats Mont des Cats is a small hill (alt. 164m) near the town of Godewaersvelde, France. Located in the Nord department, its Flemish name is Katsberg. The hill is seat of the Mont des Cats abbey, famous for its cheese produced by monks since 1890. At ...

* * Mousseron * Niolo * Olivet cendré * Ortolan * 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 approxima ...

Raclette Raclette (, ) is a Swiss dish, also popular in the other Alpine countries, based on heating cheese and scraping off the melted part, then typically served with boiled potatoes. Raclette cheese is historically a dish originating from the canton of ...

Rochebarron Rochebaron is a soft blue cheese made from pasteurised cow's milk, in the town of Beauzac in the Auvergne region, in the Massif Central, France. This cheese is one of several that are made by curdling milk and separating the curds from the whey ...

* Roucoulons * Roue de Brielove * Saint Agur *

Saint Albray Saint Albray is a cheese which comes from the Aquitaine region of France. Invented in 1976, the cheese is a French soft cheese. Made with pasteurized Pasteurization or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged an ...

* Saint-André * Saint-Paulin * Saint-Rémy * Spinosien * Tarentais * Tomme au Fenouil * Tomme Boudane *

Tomme Butone Tomme (), occasionally spelled Tome, is a type of cheese and is a generic name given to a class of cheese produced mainly in the French Alps and in Switzerland.Joel Robuchon et al., ''Larousse Gastronomique'' (New York, New York: Clarkson Pott ...

* Tomme de Lévéjac * Tomme du Jura *

Tomme du Revard Tomme (), occasionally spelled Tome, is a type of cheese and is a generic name given to a class of cheese produced mainly in the French Alps and in Switzerland.Joel Robuchon et al., ''Larousse Gastronomique'' (New York, New York: Clarkson Pott ...

Toucy Toucy () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, in the historical region of Puisaye. Personalities Toucy was the birthplace and hometown of Pierre Larousse, lexicographer and founder of the publ ...

* Tourrée de l'aubier * Tracle * Trèfle *

Tricorne de Marans The tricorne or tricorn is a style of hat that was popular during the 18th century, falling out of style by 1800, though actually not called a "tricorne" until the mid-19th century. During the 18th century, hats of this general style were referr ...

* Trinqueux * U Muntagnolu * Vallé d'Ossau *

Velay Velay () is a historical area of France situated in east Haute-Loire ''département'' and south east of Massif central. History Julius Caesar mentioned the vellavi as subordinate of the arverni. Strabon suggested that they might have made ...

Venaco Venaco is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regio ...

* Vesontio *

Vieux-Boulogne Vieux-Boulogne (also known as Sablé du Boulonnais) is an unpasteurized, unpressed cow's-milk cheese made in the Pas-de-Calais ''département'' around the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer in France. It was developed in 1982 by Antoine Bernard and Philippe ...

* Vieux Samer * Void * Xaintray

Notes

External links

Pictures Gallery of French Cheese (and some others)

Pictures and detailed information on French Cheese
{{Geographical indications

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges 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 productio ...

+FranceList_of_French_cheeses