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PGI — Franche-Comté
Four hundred litres of milk, a minimum of eight months' maturing, and the patience of the Jura cellars — Gruyère de France is a cheese of slowness and trust.
Cooked pressed cheese from Franche-Comté, PGI (IGP) since 2013.
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The story of Gruyère de France begins in the Swiss mountains, at the crossroads of Alpine passes leading into Italy. The commune of Gruyères, in the canton of Fribourg, gave its name to a cooked pressed cheese that Fribourg cheesemakers developed and perfected over the medieval centuries. The technique spread towards the Pays de Vaud, then gradually moved down along the Jura massif into France.
It was in the 17th century that this transfer of know-how gathered pace. The Ten Years' War (1635–1643) ravaged Franche-Comté and emptied the countryside. When peace returned, the province lacked agricultural labour and expertise. Swiss cheesemakers from Fribourg and Berne, facing their own economic hardship, crossed the border and settled in the valleys of the Doubs and the Jura. They brought with them mastery of large-wheel cheeses — the cooked pressed cheese technique that yields a keeping cheese capable of lasting through the winter and being exported.
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As with Comté, the making of Gruyère de France is inseparable from the cooperative spirit of the fruitières: dairy farmers grouped into cooperatives own the cheese dairy premises and are responsible for hiring the cheesemaker who processes their milk. Producing a wheel weighing several dozen kilograms requires far more milk than an isolated farmer can gather from a single milking — hence the pooling of resources. These fruitières — from the Latin fructus, the shared fruit — became the central institution of the mountain economy. The master cheesemaker, who received milk from each family and paid back their share in cheeses, played a social role as much as an economic one in these mountain communities.
In the 19th century, the production of French Gruyère became structured. The fruitières of Doubs and Jura modernised, maturing cellars expanded, and the cheese established itself on the markets of Besançon, Dijon, and Paris. Its resemblance to Swiss Gruyère — whilst developing a distinct personality of its own, slightly more tangy — earned it a solid reputation in the first half of the 20th century.
The question of the identity of Gruyère de France in relation to Swiss Gruyère (PDO (AOP)) long remained complex, as both countries historically shared the same cross-border production area. The specification for the protected geographical indication was approved in France on 7 October 2010, and the name "Gruyère (PGI)" was then registered at European level by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 110/2013 of 6 February 2013: Gruyère de France is now recognised as a distinct appellation, with its own requirements regarding terroir and production. The PGI defines a production area extending from the plateaux of Haute-Saône in the north to Savoie in the south — covering twelve départements of eastern France, from Doubs and Jura to Savoie and Haute-Savoie —, and requires the use of raw milk from local breeds. Today, the sector brings together around 170 dairy farms, 9 manufacturing workshops, and 3 maturing cellars, for an annual production of 65,000 to 70,000 wheels.
Appearance
Large flat wheel with a slight doming and a convex heel, 53 to 63 cm in diameter and 13 to 16 cm in height, weighing around 42 kg. Rubbed, solid, and granular rind, golden-yellow to brown in colour. Firm, cooked, and pressed paste, ivory to pale yellow in colour, which must feature eyes ranging from the size of a pea to that of a cherry — unlike Swiss Gruyère, which has no holes.
Aroma
Characteristic aromas reminiscent of dried fruit and butter, which intensify with maturing.
Taste
Sweet and fruity flavour, marked by the propionic fermentations characteristic of this cheese, with notes of dried fruit.
Texture
Both firm and melting, with a paste that gives way slightly under the bite.
Matured for 4 to 8 months, supple paste, mild and balanced flavour
Matured for 8 to 12 months, drier and more crumbly paste, more pronounced flavour with caramelised notes
Produced from certified organic milk, including the Biodéal network in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
The curd is cut into very fine grains to encourage the expulsion of whey
The curd is heated to a minimum temperature of 52°C.
In a large cylindrical mould, lined with cloth
At least 6 hours.
At the earliest 20 hours after moulding, by immersion in brine or dry salting.
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Gruyère de France can be cut into shavings, strips, or cubes depending on how it is used. On a cheeseboard, it pairs naturally with the other great Comtois cheeses: Comté, Morbier, and Mont d'Or, complementing their palette with its fruity sweetness.
In cooking, it melts perfectly without releasing water and withstands high temperatures — making it a gratin and fondue cheese par excellence. Jura fondue, made with equal parts Gruyère and Comté in a white Arbois wine, is one of the region's most iconic convivial dishes. As for wines, a white Arbois Chardonnay, a Côtes-du-Jura, or a Savoyard Crépy make harmonious pairings.
Since: 2013
Area covered: Doubs (25), Jura (39), Haute-Saône (70), Savoie (73), Haute-Savoie (74) in their entirety; parts of Ain (01), Côte-d'Or (21), Isère (38), Haute-Marne (52), Saône-et-Loire (71), Vosges (88) and Territoire de Belfort (90)
Key requirements: Raw milk from local breeds, feed free of fermented fodder and GMOs, matured for a minimum of 120 days, wheel 53 to 63 cm in diameter weighing around 42 kg
National approval on 07/10/2010.
Dairy cooperative
Artisanal industry
Get listed and reach more lovers of regional produce.
Request a listingDairy cooperative
Monts & Terroirs presents itself as a cheese company born from the parallel paths of two maturing cooperative unions founded in 1945 — the Cave Coopérative Centrale d'Affinage de Poligny (which became Juramonts Comté in 1970) and the Union des coopératives d'affinage de Franche-Comté. Since 1983, several cheesemaking families have joined it: Reybier in 1983, Entremont in 1988, Grosjean with Juragruyère in 1992, Fromagerie Mercier in Savoie in 2000, Jura Courlaoux and Fromageries du Colombier in 2006, then the Grillot family in 2014. In 2012, the company — previously called Juragruyère — was renamed Monts & Terroirs.
The enterprise describes itself as a dual-shareholding structure, majority-owned by dairy farmers, with the mission of preserving the cheesemaking terroirs of Franche-Comté and Savoie. Its range includes Comté PDO (AOP), traditionally warm-cured for a minimum of 6 to 18 months, Beaufort PDO, Morbier PDO, Emmental Grand Cru and Gruyère PGI (IGP) matured for at least 4 months on spruce boards, as well as two tommes made artisanally in Savoie and the Jura. Its registered office is based in Poligny, in the Jura.
Lyon
| Address | 587 Rte de Bletterans, 39570 Courlaoux, France |
| 03 84 35 30 56 | |
| montsetterroirs.com | |
| Facebook page | |
| Visits | By appointment |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2008. |
Artisanal industry
Founded in 2000 in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, on the outskirts of Lyon, Biodéal was born of the vision of two entrepreneurs to build an entirely organic, French cheese and dairy supply chain at a time when most organic milk consumed in France was still imported. Twenty-five years on, the company works with partner livestock farmers and maturing cellars in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Franche-Comté, regions where more than 90% of its products are made.
Biodéal presents itself as the only producer of Gruyère France PGI (IGP) in an organic version, alongside a range that revisits great regional cheese classics under the Accord & Fromages brand — successor to R'Bio, marketed by Biodéal for twenty-five years — featuring Comté PDO (AOP), Saint-Nectaire fermier PDO, Ossau-Iraty, Brie, Fourme, and cancoillotte, all certified Agriculture Biologique. The company describes itself as the exclusive distributor of Vilactée, an organic mountain milk collected at altitudes between 600 and 1,200 metres in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and packaged within 30 km of collection, and also sells organic butter. Its products, sold in organic shops, supermarket organic aisles, and cheesemongers, are also exported to Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.
Paris
| Address | 43 Grande Rue, 69110 Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, France |
| 04 69 00 16 88 | |
| info@biodeal.fr | |
| biodeal.net | |
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All production is certified organic, since 2005. |
