List of French cheeses

French cheeses

France is renowned for its diverse and exquisite selection of cheeses. French cheeses are an integral part of the country's culinary identity, boasting a wide range of flavors, textures, and forms. There are over 1,000 varieties of French cheese, and they are broadly grouped into eight categories, known as 'les huit familles de fromage.'

The Eight Families of French Cheese (Les Huit Familles de Fromage)

Fromage Tarare

1. Fresh Cheeses (Fromages Frais): Soft, fresh cheeses without a rind. Examples include Fromage Blanc and Petit-Suisse.

2. Soft Cheeses with Natural Rind (Fromages à pâte molle à croûte naturelle): Soft, creamy cheeses with a bloomy rind. Examples include Camembert and Brie.

3. Soft Cheeses with Washed Rind (Fromages à pâte molle à croûte lavée): Soft cheeses with a washed, often orange rind. Examples include Munster and Époisses.

4. Pressed Cheeses (Fromages à pâte pressée): Cheeses that are pressed to remove moisture. They can be uncooked (Cantal) or cooked (Comté).

5. Pressed and Cooked Cheeses (Fromages à pâte pressée cuite): Firm, aged cheeses with a dense texture. Examples include Beaufort and Emmental.

6. Goat Cheeses (Fromages de chèvre): Cheeses made from goat's milk. Examples include Crottin de Chavignol and Valençay.

7. Blue Cheeses (Fromages à pâte persillée): Cheeses with blue or green veins. Examples include Roquefort and Bleu d'Auvergne.

8. Flavored Cheeses (Fromages aux saveurs et arômes ajoutés): Cheeses with added flavors. Examples include cheeses with herbs or spices.

Notable French Cheeses

French cheese stall

Brie

• Region: Île-de-France
• Milk: Cow
• Description: Soft cheese with a white, edible rind and a creamy interior.

Brie cheese

Camembert

• Region: Normandy
• Milk: Cow
• Description: Similar to Brie, but smaller in size and slightly stronger in flavor.

Roquefort

• Region: Occitanie
• Milk: Sheep
• Description: A blue cheese known for its strong flavor and tangy, moist texture.

Comté

• Region: Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
• Milk: Cow
• Description: A hard cheese with a complex, nutty flavor. Aged for several months to years.

Reblochon

• Region: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
• Milk: Cow
• Description: A soft, washed-rind cheese with a creamy texture and a nutty aftertaste.

Munster

• Region: Grand Est
• Milk: Cow
• Description: A strong-smelling soft cheese with a distinct orange rind and a smooth, creamy interior.

Chèvre

• Region: Various
• Milk: Goat
• Description: A term for French goat cheeses. They come in various shapes and sizes, with flavors ranging from mild to tangy.

Bleu d'Auvergne

• Region: Auvergne
• Milk: Cow
• Description: A creamy blue cheese with a strong aroma and a balanced, spicy flavor.

Glossary of French Cheeses

More French cheeses

Cheese

Ramequin - cheese

Cheese-gruyère

This glossary provides a detailed description of various French cheeses, each with its unique characteristics and history.

• Abbaye de Belloc - A traditional, farmhouse, unpasteurized, semi-hard cheese made from sheep's milk.
• Abbaye de Tamié - A French cheese produced by the Trappist monks in the Savoie region.
• Abbaye de Timadeuc Cheese - A semi-soft, cow's milk cheese from the Brittany region.
• Abondance cheese - A semi-hard, cow's milk cheese from the French Alps region.
• Aisy cendré - A traditional French cheese, characterized by a layer of ash.
• Babybel - A small, round, semi-hard cheese wrapped in wax.

Smoked rambol cheese

• Baguette laonnaise - A cheese made from cow's milk, typically found in Northern France.
• Beaufort cheese - A firm, raw cow's milk cheese associated with the Alpine region.
• Bleu d'Auvergne - A blue cheese made from cow's milk in the Auvergne region.
• Bleu de Bresse - A creamy, blue-veined cheese made from cow's milk.
• Bleu de Gex - A mild, semi-soft blue cheese made in the Jura region.
• Bleu des Causses - A blue cheese similar to Roquefort, but less salty.
• Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage - A mild, blue cheese from the Rhône-Alpes region.
• Boursin cheese - A soft, creamy cheese available in various flavors.
• Brie - A soft cheese, known for its creamy, buttery flavor.
• Brie de Meaux - A variety of Brie cheese, famous for its strong taste.
• Brillat-Savarin cheese - A soft, white-crusted cow's milk cheese.
• Brocciu - A Corsican cheese made from sheep or goat's milk.
• Brouère - A hard, cow's milk cheese from the Lorraine region.
• Bucheron - A goat's milk cheese, semi-aged with a firm texture.
• Cabécou - A soft, unpasteurized goat's milk cheese from the Midi-Pyrénées region.
• Camembert - A moist, creamy, cow's milk cheese.
• Cancoillotte - A runny cheese made from cow's milk, typical of the Franche-Comté region.
• Cantal cheese - A firm cheese from the Auvergne region, made from cow's milk.
• Carré d'Aurillac - A soft, square-shaped cheese from the Auvergne region.
• Carré de l'Est - A soft, creamy cheese made from cow's milk.
• Cathare - A soft cheese made from goat's milk.
• Cazelle de Saint Affrique - A soft, goat's milk cheese from the Aveyron region.
• Chabichou - A small, goat's milk cheese from the Poitou-Charentes region.
• Chabis - A fresh, unpasteurized goat's milk cheese.
• Chaource cheese - A soft, cow's milk cheese, similar to Brie.
• Chaubier - A semi-soft cheese made from a blend of cow's and goat's milk.
• Chavroux - A soft, fresh goat's milk cheese.
• Chevrotin - A semi-firm, unpasteurized goat's milk cheese.
• Chèvréchard - A hard, aged goat's milk cheese.
• Clochette - A goat's milk cheese, shaped like a small bell.
• Comté cheese - A hard, cow's milk cheese produced in the Jura Massif region.
• Coulommiers cheese - A soft, cow's milk cheese, similar to Brie but smaller.
• Couronne lochoise - A goat's milk cheese from the Loire Valley.
• Coutances cheese - A soft, creamy cheese from the Normandy region.
• Crottin de Chavignol - A small, goat's milk cheese with a natural rind.
• Délice d'Argental - A creamy, cow's milk cheese with a bloomy rind.
• Délice de Bourgogne - A rich, creamy cheese made from cow's milk.
• Etorki - A sheep's milk cheese from the Basque region.
• Explorateur - A creamy, triple-cream cheese made from cow's milk.
• Faisselle - A fresh, soft cheese typically made from cow's, goat's, or sheep's milk.
• Fourme d'Ambert - A semi-hard blue cheese, one of France's oldest cheeses.
• Fourme de Montbrison - A cow's milk blue cheese from the Auvergne region.
• Fromager d'Affinois - A creamy, brie-style cheese with a soft texture.
• Gaperon - A semi-soft cheese flavored with pepper and garlic.
• Laguiole cheese - A firm, cow's milk cheese from the Aubrac region.
• Langres cheese - A cow's milk cheese with a distinct orange-colored rind.
• Le Rustique - A popular brand of Camembert cheese.
• Livarot cheese - A strong-smelling cow's milk cheese from Normandy.
• Marie Harel - Known for the creation of Camembert cheese.
• Maroilles cheese - A strong, cow's milk cheese with a distinct orange rind.
• Metton - A creamy, spreadable cheese made from cow's milk.
• Mimolette - A hard, orange cheese similar in texture to Edam.
• Mont des Cats cheese - A semi-soft, cow's milk cheese made by Trappist monks.
• Morbier cheese - A semi-soft cow's milk cheese with a distinctive black layer.
• Mottin charentais - A soft, creamy cheese with a bloomy rind.
• Munster cheese - A strong-smelling, soft cheese made from cow's milk.
• Mâconnais cheese - A small, goat's milk cheese from the Burgundy region.
• Neufchâtel cheese - A soft, slightly crumbly, mold-ripened cheese.
• Olivet cendré - A soft, cow's milk cheese coated in ash.
• Ossau-Iraty - A traditional sheep's milk cheese from the Basque Country.
• P'tit Basque - A sheep's milk cheese with a smooth, creamy texture.
• Perail - A soft, creamy sheep's milk cheese from the Midi-Pyrénées.
• Petit suisse - A creamy, unsalted cow's milk cheese, similar to yogurt.
• Picodon - A goat's milk cheese from the Rhône-Alpes and Auvergne regions.
• Pont-l'Évêque cheese - A soft, cow's milk cheese with a washed rind.
• Port Salut - A semi-soft, cow's milk cheese with a distinctive orange rind.
• Pouligny-Saint-Pierre cheese - A goat's milk cheese with a pyramid shape.
• Président (brand) - A popular French brand producing various types of cheese.
• Pélardon - An aged goat's milk cheese from the Languedoc region.
• Reblochon - A soft, washed-rind cheese made from cow's milk.
• Rigotte de Condrieu - A small, goat's milk cheese from the Rhône-Alpes region.
• Rocamadour cheese - A small, soft goat's milk cheese from the Midi-Pyrénées.
• Rochebaron - A soft, blue-veined cheese with a bloomy rind.
• Roquefort - A sheep's milk blue cheese, one of the world's best-known blue cheeses.
• Roule cheese - A soft, spreadable cheese, often flavored with herbs or garlic.
• Saint Agur Blue - A creamy blue cheese made from cow's milk.
• Saint Albray - A flower-shaped, cow's milk cheese with a creamy texture.
• Saint-André cheese - A triple-cream cow's milk cheese, similar to Brie.
• Saint-Félicien cheese - A soft, cow's milk cheese with a creamy texture.
• Saint-Marcellin - A soft, cow's milk cheese with a mild, nutty flavor.
• Saint-Nectaire - A semi-soft, washed-rind cheese from the Auvergne region.
• Saint-Paulin cheese - A semi-soft cheese made from cow's milk.
• Sainte-Maure de Touraine - A goat's milk cheese, known for its log shape.
• Salers cheese - A semi-hard cheese, similar to Cantal, made from cow's milk.
• Sarasson - A fresh cheese made from cow's milk, similar to fromage blanc.
• Selles-sur-Cher cheese - A goat's milk cheese with a blackened, ash-coated rind.
• Swiss-type cheeses - A variety of cheeses resembling Swiss cheeses like Emmental or Gruyère.
• The Laughing Cow - A brand of processed cheese products.
• Tomme - A type of cheese from the Alps and Pyrenees, made from cow's, goat's, or sheep's milk.
• Tomme de Savoie - A semi-firm cow's milk cheese from the Savoie region.
• Tomme des Pyrénées - A firm cheese from the Pyrenees, made from cow's or sheep's milk.
• Trou du Cru - A soft, cow's milk cheese with a strong flavor.
• Vacherin Mont d'Or - A rich, seasonal cheese made from cow's milk.
• Valençay cheese - A goat's milk cheese with a distinctive pyramid shape.
• Vieux-Boulogne - A strong-smelling, soft cow's milk cheese.
• Édel de Cléron - A soft cheese made from cow's milk, similar to Vacherin.
• Époisses - A pungent, soft-paste cow's milk cheese from Burgundy.

Conclusion

French cheeses are a testament to the country's rich gastronomic history and diversity. Each cheese offers a unique taste experience, reflecting the terroir and traditions of its region. Exploring the varieties of French cheeses is a journey through the heart of France's culinary culture.