No doubt, cheese is one of the most mouth-watering dairy products. Its unique milky and buttery yet salty and nutty taste coupled with its delicate texture remains unmatched.
Whether you’re eating a pizza, sandwich, or salad, the delicious taste and texture of cheese won’t fail to make your food even better. It’s not surprising that cheese is used across the world in different cuisines.
However, over the years, several different types of cheese have been developed as people continue to try and perfect its taste. Ranging from mozzarella and parmesan to cheddar, Swiss cheese, and hard cheese, there are countless cheeses you can add to your food.
But the unique flavour, aroma, and texture of Comte cheese set it apart from other types, making it the perfect contender for your palate. However, Comte cheese is also known for its complex taste.
So, it’s best to understand what is Comte cheese before adding it to your food. Here’s everything you need to know about Comte cheese to make the most out of it.
What is Comte?
Crafted in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France, Comte cheese is a semi-hard type of cheese that’s pale yellow in appearance. Being unique to eastern France, the flavours and texture of Comte cheese are heavily influenced by its environment.
The Montbéliarde and French Simmental cows feed on the pastures of the mountains of eastern France, providing uniquely flavoured milk that gives rise to the popular flavours of Comte cheese.
Once it’s made in the local creameries, Comte cheese develops a complex flavour that’s often described as nutty and fruity. Subtle notes of banana and caramel can be tasted with hints of savoury flavours of onions and butter.
However, compared to the fruity, smoky, and nutty flavour of aged cheeses, younger Comte cheeses taste fresh and milkier.
In terms of texture, younger Comte cheeses are grainy, soft, and open, while aged cheeses are known to be more dense and even crystalline due to amino acids.
Not to mention, Comte cheese is also known for its iconic aromas. The smoky and fruity flavours of Comte cheese often give off the aroma of roasted hazelnuts and caramelised butter.
How is Comte made?
For centuries, Comte cheese has been made in the same region of eastern France. As a result, the local manufacturers are the only ones with the expertise to craft this cheese.
To maintain and protect the iconic taste and authenticity of the cheese, it has been given the Protected Designation of Origin status (PDO). Each step of manufacturing is regulated to ensure everything comes from the unique region of France.
Ingredients
The feed of the cows to their breed and the distance between the pasture and creameries are set to manufacture the uniquely flavoured Comte cheese. Even the slightest change in the manufacturing process can ruin the flavour of the cheese.
The Montbéliardes and French Simmental cows feed on a diverse collection of grasses and wildflowers growing on the pastures of the mountains. Their diet consists of as many as 400 types of wildflowers, which adds to the aroma and richness of the milk.
Depending on the time of the year, cows can produce milk with different tastes, yielding different Comte for summer and winter.
Summer Comte is known to have a stronger flavour, while winter Comte is milder and milkier.
Manufacturing process
Once the milk is collected, it’s heated to about 90F, after which the fermentation process begins by adding starter culture. After an hour passes the fermentation process, rennet is added to the milk while increasing the temperature to 133F.
Classing cheese making is bound to make use of rennet, which is a substance that separates solid milk particles from water, creating a solid mass.
Rennet will continue to coagulate the milk until the unique firmness of Comte cheese is reached. This process will end once the cheese curds have formed.
Ageing
After the curdling process comes to an end, the curds are placed in a round mould where the excess liquid drains off. Once a day has passed, the cheese waits in the dairy cellar for three weeks before being passed on to the ageing cellar.
During the 4-24 month ageing process, the real colour and taste of Comte cheese form. The fresh white cheese turns yellow and starts to give off its iconic aroma as nutty and fruity flavours develop.
Uses for Comte
Comte cheese is used in a diverse range of foods. However, due to its complex tastes and unique texture, it can be challenging to use it the right way.
So, to help you enjoy Comte cheese in the most delicious way possible, here are some ways to use it.
Fondue
Comte cheese is known for its exceptional melting properties. Not only does it melt with ease, but it also creates a rich, creamy liquid with great texture.
As a result, the melting properties of Comte combined with its iconic taste make it the ideal cheese for fondue. Often considered a luxurious and delicious dinner, fondue is a dish that consists of melted cheese eaten by dipping bread.
If you consider yourself to be a cheese lover, fondue is the perfect dish to make, and Comte is the ideal ingredient to use.
Baking
The melting properties of Comte cheese make it an ideal candidate for baking as well. From bread rolls and souffles to pancakes and scones, Comte cheese can be used in a variety of different baked goods.
Comte cheese not only melts in baked goods evenly and easily but also adds rich flavours as well as aromas, significantly enhancing the taste.
Cheese platter
Cheese platters are the perfect appetizer for parties and even serve as a great way to snack on cheese. Not only are they incredibly easy to make, but they are also quite delicious.
But what makes a cheese platter even better is Comte cheese. Without the buttery, sweet, and nutty flavours of Comte, a cheese platter would be incomplete.
Along with its unique taste, the nutritional properties of Comte cheese also make it a great candidate for a cheese platter.
Unlike some types of cheese, Comte contains the nutrients for a balanced diet and can be quite healthy for your body. It is also easily digestible and high in calcium, like sheep cheese.
Substitutes for Comte
As Comte cheese is only made in a single part of the world, it’s often not available for use. If you’re in such a situation, there’s nothing to worry about, as you can always use a Comte cheese substitute.
For this purpose, you need to find a cheese that has the same fruity, buttery, and nutty flavours, such as Italian, French, and Swiss cheese. Here are some substitutes that might fit the same delicious taste of Comte cheese.
Swiss Gruyere
When it comes to Comte cheese substitutes, Swiss Gruyere is undoubtedly the most suitable option. From appearance to taste and aroma, Gruyere cheese matches almost every aspect of Comte cheese.
The reason behind the similarity between Swiss Gruyere and Comte cheese is that both are manufactured the same way. However, what sets them apart is that Gruyere is made in a different area, resulting in a slightly different flavour.
Despite the slight difference, Gruyere will serve perfectly as a Comte cheese substitute. In fact, Gruyere cheese might be better at providing the taste of hazelnuts and butter.
Beaufort
Another great substitute for Comte is Beaufort. Compared to Comte cheese, Beaufort is creamier and softer, allowing it to melt with ease. In terms of flavour, it’s considered to be more subtle than Comte.
However, with age, the taste of Beaufort can become stronger and closer to that of Comte cheese. After all, both kinds of cheese are made high up in the mountains of France, using almost identical ingredients.
Emmentaler
Emmentaler is a Swiss cheese that’s perfect to use if you’re looking for the unique texture of Comte cheese. Much like Comte, Emmentaler is also known for having a medium-hard texture.
As a result, when heated, Emmentaler cheese easily melts into a creamy liquid, just like Comte. When it comes to flavour, Emmentaler is nutty and buttery with fruity undertones, matching the description of Comte.
Gouda
Gouda is described as having the fruity flavour found in Comte cheese. However, compared to Comte, the fruitiness of Gouda is not only mild but also lacks salty and nutty notes.
But what’s best about Gouda is that you can use it in place of Comte in every application. More importantly, thanks to the popularity of Gouda, you can find it easier than any other Comte substitute.
Fontina
Fontina is another widely available substitute for Comte cheese. Originating from Italy, Fontina provides flavours with roasted nut and buttery notes.
While Fontina is considered milder than Comte cheese when it comes to flavour, it will still serve as a decent substitute, thanks to its texture. Fontina and Comte share almost identical semi-hard textures.
Provolone
Similar to Fontina, Provolone is also an Italian cheese. Due to its great melting properties, it makes an excellent substitute for Comte, which is known for the same qualities.
So, whether you’re looking to make Fondue or baked goods, Provolone will serve perfectly instead of Comte. If you want to match the taste of Comte cheese as well, you can add aged Provolone and get the buttery and sweet undertones.
Conclusion
Despite being made in a small and remote area of France, Comte cheese has become popular across the world due to its unique taste, texture, and aroma. Whether you’re a cheese connoisseur or not, Comte cheese won’t fail to make your mouth water.
Now that you’re familiar with the complexity of its flavours, the way it’s crafted, and its uses, you can finally add Comte cheese to your meal. So, start preparing for a memorable dinner filled with rich and creamy Comte cheese.
Andy
Ever since I started cooking I’ve been fascinated by how different people’s techniques are and how they best utilise the ingredients around them. Even the person living next door will have their own unique way of frying an egg or cooking a salmon fillet.
This fascination led me on a journey across the globe to discover the countless practices and traditions the world of cooking has to offer. I thought you’d enjoy and find value in sharing that journey with me so I created Cooked Best!