What Is Comté and How Do I Use It?

Comté is flavor-forward, firm and melts beautifully, making it one of those rare cheeses that can be both a kitchen workhorse and a cheese board show pony. Delicious on its own, comté is also excellent for sandwiches, casseroles or any dish that calls for a good melting cheese. This is one of the lesser-known types of cheese that is worth tracking down.

What is comté?

Comté is a French AOC cheese—Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée. If a French cheese has this label, it’s made under strict conditions determined by the French government. By French law, comté must be made with unpasteurized milk from Montbéliarde or French Simmental cows, in a specific region in France. Each wheel is about 80 pounds and is aged an average of eight months. The resulting flavor is nutty and salty with fruity, savory notes. Of all the AOC cheeses, comté is the variety the French eat the most.

Where is comté made?

This traditional cheese is only made in the Jura Massif of France, a mountain region where the cows graze in pastures by summer and eat local hay in the winter—no fermented feed is allowed. Over 2,000 small dairies supply high-quality milk to about 140 small village cheesemakers, called fruitières. It takes 100 gallons of milk to make a single wheel of comté. Affineurs (cheese-agers) specialize in maturing the cheese on wooden boards until they are ready to enjoy.

Comté is made in copper vats and is a cooked, pressed cheese. Milk is coagulated with rennet (an enzyme derived from calf stomach) and cut into small curds, about the size of rice grains. They are gently heated, the whey is drained off, and then the curds are pressed into large wheels that are dry-salted. After a few weeks, wheels move to the affineurs who care for the cheese as it matures and develops flavor.

Typically, comté goes through a minimum of four months of aging, but can be aged over 24 months. Cheese shops will often carry two different ages, and younger and more mature wheels will have different flavors and textures.

Fort des Rousses is an affineur in the heart of the Haut Jura Natural Park run by Jean-Charles Arnaud and his family. Once a fort that housed 3,500 soldiers, it now ages 100,000 wheels of cheese at precise conditions. Temperature and humidity are carefully monitored. Salting and scrubbing the wheels multiple times a week, along with moving cheeses to rooms with slightly different conditions, creates the distinctive rind and allows the interior to mature and develop distinctive comté flavors.

Marcel Petite’s Fort St. Antoine is another former fort turned into a cheese aging space that has been in the same family for generations. Both of these affineurs contribute to the nearly 1.7 million wheels of comté made annually. After aging, the cheese is evaluated and scored based on appearance, flavor and aroma. The best wheels are given a green band and can be found in cheese shops across the United States. Cheeses that may have small flaws (but are still delicious) are given brown bands.

How to Use Comté

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As comté ages, the texture and flavor continues to develop, but you will predominantly find nutty, fruity, savory notes. Older, firmer profiles are perfect for a charcuterie board, sliced and served with simple accompaniments like toasted nuts, rich preserves and cured meat. For wine pairings, look to the white wines of the Jura region, young fruity red wine or sparkling wine. Remember to let your cheese come to room temperature before serving on a board.

Comté is also the perfect cooking cheese when you want something flavorful that melts beautifully. Use comté that has only been only aged a few months; it has a creamier texture. Add it to your favorite macaroni and cheese or grilled cheese recipe. Substitute equal amounts of comté for any melting cheese called for in recipes like quiche, au gratin potatoes or croque madame sandwiches.

How to Buy and Store Comté

If possible, buy cheese at a cut-to-order shop to ensure the best flavor. Don’t be afraid to ask for a taste, especially if you’re deciding between two age profiles! At more traditional grocery store cheese counters, you may find wedges already cut and sealed in plastic.

When you bring your comté home, if it is wrapped in plastic, unwrap and rewrap in parchment or butcher paper, then store in the refrigerator in a container that allows a little air in it. This allows the cheese to breathe naturally, but not dry out. If it has been in plastic awhile, “face” the cheese by gently scraping the surface with the side of a paring knife to remove the part that was touching the plastic, along with any plastic flavors that may be on the cheese. Enjoy cut cheese within a week of buying.