Reblochon is a disc-shaped cheese with a beige/straw coloured rind and a soft, creamy paste which, in very ripe examples, can take on the consistency of very thick double cream. The aromas given off by the rind of Missillier’s cheese are extraordinary, giving an impression of warm, clean cattle – a real testament to the extra complexity raw milk farmhouse production can give a cheese. The flavour is creamy and rich with lingering notes of nuts and a slight smoky pungency from the rind. This cheese is somewhat temperamental but in good condition it is near peerless soft cheese.

The rind of Reblochon is a washed which develops a bloomy rind. The cheese may be made using either raw or pasteurized milk, and production may be fermier, cooperative or industriel. The best examples, such as this one by Jean-Pierre Missillier are farmhouse cheeses made from raw milk. Fermier versions are marked with a green casein label whereas industriel reblochon carries a red casein label. The AOC states that Reblochon may only be made using milk from the Abondance, Montbelliard and Tarine breeds. The use of fermented fodder is prohibited. The AOC delimits production to the area of Haute-Savoie east of Annecy and to the Val d’Arly in Savoie.

Reblochonis  part of the the tradition of ‘stolen’ cheeses which traces its origins back to the thirteenth century.  This wonderful cheese has its origins in forms of tax evasion every bit as sophisticated as those practiced today. Knowing that village-dwelling tax collectors were unlikely to be fully acquainted with agricultural practice canny mountain farmers- who were to pay tax on all milk produced- would only partially milk their cows leaving the rest of the milk in the beast. Satisfied that he had seen the animals milked before his very eyes the taxman would move on to the next farm, where the trick would be repeated again. Once the coast was clear a second milking would take place. This second milking produced a thicker, richer milk which would then be used to make to make the small soft cheese eventually known as Reblochon, taking its name from the French verb reblocher, to pinch a cow’s udder again.