Cheesy Christmas 8: Reblochon Fermier

Today’s cheese was another familiar cheese.

Not only is Reblochon one of the cheeses that we’d tasted last year (on day 5), but it’s also a cheese that used to make Tartiflette, a wonderfully winter dish that’ll warm your insides…

Tartiflette

Tartiflette is typically a dish that’s eaten in winter because it’s faily heavy. Think of a potato scallop, but rather thank sliced the potatoes are just cut up in pieces, and there’s no bechamel / cream sauce. In stead, diced ham bits or back are mixed in with sauteed onions, and thin rounds of reblochon cheese are placed on top, before baking in the oven. Here’s a recipe.

Day #8: Reblochon

Name: Reblochon
The history of the Reblochon name can be seen here, but the most interesting thing (for us) – is this… there is a French verb in local dialect, ‘re-blocher’ which designates ‘the action of pinching a cow’s udder a second time’. So ‘reblochon’ would be that which results from the second pinching. In addition… it’s said that one reason for the double-pinching is that farmers would only partially milk their cows, pay the tax on the amount milked (as though that was the full amount), then go back & milk a second time. In essence, it was a way to save on taxes, with the added benefit of a fattier milk the second time ’round.
Region: Haute-Savoie
This is the mountainous region of France, in the Alps, bordering on Switzerland. For this reason, you can imagine the value of a calory-heavy meal in wintertime.
Milk: Pasteurized Cow’s milk.
Our Score: 4.1/5
It appears our tastes haven’t changed all that drastically since last year where we gave it a 4.3. That being said, the slight drop was likely caused by the fact that, as was the case with yesterday’s Livarot, it was as though the cheese had been left out in the air for a bit too long before being packaged. Once again, there was a bit of a leathery film on the outside. Aside from that… a lovely cheese with a combination nutty & buttery taste, a creamy interior and a crust that also was more edible than yesterday’s. The crust gave the cheese a bit more of a pronounced flavour.

Here you can see the difference between the slightly leathery outer film and the inside. It made it a little bit of a pain to cut, but aside from that… a nice cheese!