French Cheeses- Les Fromages de France

With over 400 regional cheeses made in France, we could easily eat a different cheese every day of the year. Traditionally, between 350 to 450 distinct types of French cheese are grouped into eight categories, “Les Huit Familles de Fromage” made with three types of milk: cow, goat, and sheep. Did you know that there can be many varieties within each type of cheese, leading some to claim closer to 1,600 different types of French cheese?

Under the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, some established cheeses, including many French varieties, are labeled with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), and other designations of geographical origin for traditional specialties, such as the EU Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Some traditional regional cheeses (about 63 of them) just like Champagne are labeled with the AOC – Appellation d’Origine Controlée or Designation of Controlled Origin. Le Roquefort was the first one to be so prestigiously labeled AOC in 1925.

The 8 categories of cheeses or Les Huit Familles de Fromage:

Les fromages frais – Fresh Milk Cheese such as Petit Suisse or Brousse
Les pâtes molles à croûte fleurie – Soft Cheese with Natural Rind such as Brie, Camembert of Normandy & Neufchatel
Les pâtes molles à croûte lavée -Soft Cheese with Washed Rind such as Munster, Reblochon,Pont l’Evêque
Les pâtes persillées – Blue Cheeses such as Bleu de Bresse, Roquefort, Bleu d’Auvergne
Les pâtes pressées non-cuites – Pressed Cheeses such as Cantal, Morbier, Saint Nectaire
Les pâtes pressées cuites – Pressed Cooked Cheeses such as Emmental, Gruyère, Comté & Mimolette.
Les fromages fondus – Processed Cheeses such as Boursin
Les fromages de chèvres – Goat Cheeses such as Chevrotin, Crottin de Chavignol,Valençay, Buche de chèvre

Each region in France has its own special variety of cheeses, here is a sample of the most well-known cheeses:

Centre-Val de Loire: Goat cheeses (Crottin de Chavignol, Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine, Selles-sur-Cher, Valençay.)
Pays de la Loire: Port Salut,Tomme de Chouans
Île-de-France: Brie de Meaux, Brie de Melun. Brie Noir,Coulommiers and Boursalt
Hauts de France: Mimolette, Maroilles, Gris de Lille
Grand Est: Munster,Carré de l’Est, Caprice des Dieux
Corsica: Brocciu, Fleur du Maquis
Occitanie: Roquefort, Bleu d’Auvergne
Nouvelle-Aquitaine: Chabichou, Bûche de Chevre, , Chaumes
Normandy: Camembert, Livarot, Pont-l’Evêque and Neufchâtel.
Bourgogne Franche-Comté: Comté, Époisses, Morbier, Cancoillotte,Vacherin du Haut-Doubs, Mont d’Or,St. Nectaire
Brittany: Saint-Paulin,Paysan Breton Emmental
Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur: Banon, Brousse de Rove
Auvergen-Rhône-Alpes: Saint Nectaire, Cantal, Salers, Fourme d’Ambert and Bleu d’Auvergne.