Cantal cheese (Cantal)

Member Name: mumsymary

Product:	Cantal
Date:	25/09/05 (1005 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good cheddar substitute

Disadvantages: not easy to find in England

I just had some cheese for my lunch and was thinking about the French cheeses we ate on our holidays.

One cheese was Cantal, This cheese is made in the Cantal mountain range in the Auvergne region in France.
Cantal is a very old cheese reported to being made 2000 years ago. Originally Cantal was made in a burran.
A burron is a stone shelter on the extinct volcanoes in the Cantal region. The herdsman would shelter in a burron while he was minding the cows. Cantal cheese would be made and matured in a wooden cylinder There are still a couple of burrons where cheese is made these can be visited. Most of the cheese making now has moved to the farms and factories.

We first discovered Cantal cheese when I was looking for a hard cheese for cooking with.
Cantal is a good substitute for cheddar.
This cheese melts so is good for cooking makes a great cheese and potato pie with some crushed garlic. It is suitable for making an omlette. Because it is a hard cheese it is good to carry for yopur lunch if you are walking or cycvling in thye mountains .
Chantal is a pale yellow colour it has that mellow buttery nutty flavour. It is a semi hard cheese that has a smooth firm texture. This cheese has a grey brown rind .It is high in fat about 45% I think.

Chantal is available in 3 different strengths the mildest being matured the least time. These cheeses are Cantal Doux matured for 1 to 2 months 2 to 6 months is called Entre-Deux more than 6 months matured is Cantal Vieux.

We found this cheese easily in france and it seemed to be a reasonable price . To buy it in England go to
http://www.natoora.co.uk/uk/Boutique.asp. A young cheese costs £2.99 an mature one £3,45 for 300 g.

So if you are looking for a cheddar substitute in France do try a Cantal cheese. Happy munching enjoy your cheese Mary

Summary: good hard cheese