Reblochon cheese

Reblochon or Reblochon cheese refers to soft varieties of French cheeses. this variety of cheese is classified as the so-called "washed crust" cheese. Reblochon cheese is produced from the highest quality cow's milk in the French historical region of Savoy. The peculiarity of this region is considered the proximity of the Alps. After the soft Reblochon cheese has been subjected to a pressing process, the product is held for some time constantly washed with brine.

In French folk folklore, there is an interesting legend of the emergence of Reblochon cheese. As it turned out in the XIV century, peasants paid taxes on milk yield. To reduce tax payments, the peasants specially underdeveloped cows under the royal tax collector. After the tax collector left, the cows were milked again, just the "second" milk received served as an excellent raw material for the production of soft cheeses, including Rebloshon.

By the way, Reblochon cheese got its name just thanks to the French word Re-blocher, which literally means "second milking. " In its appearance, Reblochon cheese is a round-shaped product. the diameter of which rarely exceeds 14 cm. The height of the Reblochon cheese head does not exceed 4 cm. As a rule, the average Reblochon cheese head weighs no more than 450 g.

In addition, in the historical homeland of the product in France, you can find Reblochon cheese of quite miniature size and weighing 280 grams. In accordance with the technology of producing Reblochon cheese, the milk mass is fermented, the mass obtained in this way is crushed. At the further stage of Reblochon cheese preparation, the milled curd mass is placed in special molds and pressed using specialized technological equipment.

Reblochon cheese is aged, as is the vast majority of soft cheeses, in brine. The average ripening period for Reblochon cheese is 2-4 weeks. During ripening, Reblochon cheese is aged in brine. According to the classification adopted in cheese making, Reblochon cheese refers to non-cooked and pressed cheeses that produce their cow's milk.

Like the vast majority of French cheeses, Reblochon is protected by French law from counterfeiting through a product quality control procedure by origin. This means that Reblochon cheese can be produced by producers strictly defined by law. In addition, Reblochon cheese can be produced by cheese factories located in Savoy.

In the production of French soft Reblochon cheese, cow's milk is fermented in special copper forms, subjected to thermal treatment. Then the obtained mass is ground and placed in special molds, which are put under load thus pressing the cheese. After some time of pressing, the obtained cheese mass is salted and placed for ripening in cellars.

The minimum aging time for Reblochon cheese is a calendar month. In Savoy, Reblochon cheese is produced year-round. However, Reblochon cheese produced in the region from May to October is considered the best among foodies. Taste, aroma, and in addition, the consumer characteristics of Reblochon cheese may differ depending on the type of product. There are perhaps two main types of Reblochon cheese - peasant and fruit.