Cantal “Entre Deux” ou Cantal “Jeune”, which is what you usually find in the supermarkets, is insipid and barely passable. That would explain the waxy taste and the mildness
Cantal “Vieux”, or Salers 18 mois - you can’t mistake the difference between these and their younger milder variants. For one, the crust is alive, and usually extends into the body of the cheese in places. It is cratered and and pitted and the really mature ones have “artisons” on and in the crust. I’ll spare the general public the explanation of these little beasties - suffice it to say, they are what lends some of the flavour to the cheese.
Yes, I love mature Compté and Beaufort, I’ve not tried Abondance. I use Compté in place of Grueyer sometimes and often in place of the insipid French Emental which is awful, it’s hardly old enough to keep shape. These cheeses though are a different sort, with amongst many differences, a different ‘cooking’ process to the curds or milk. There texture and ‘feel’ is different, personally I love the nuttinness, but it’s not Cheddar … booohoooo It is possible to buy ridiculously old Cantal but in my opinion the cheese doesn’t really improve after a year, where as Cheddar can often go to two years, though again, 18months is about the limit for me … not acid and a sound body but with flavour that just expands and expands.
Nobody can say I haven’t given it a shot. 18 month Compté, no less. Sorry, doesn’t cut it. It may taste like 18 month old Compté but as the vaguest approximation to Cheddar, no.
In fact it reminded me of a riper version of the Gouda my ma used to buy in Roermond on our Saturday shopping trips over the DE border into NL.
Always a joke, coming back into DE. At that time the DE customs were red-hot on smuggling of butter and coffee. Seeing the BZ [British Zone] plates of our car they would ask a couple of prefunctory queations. If one was “What ages, madames?” My mum and her friend always replied “18!”
18 month old compte or comté ? An 18 month old compte de banque would taste nothing like cheddar. And comté is pronounced “cone-TAY”. Just sounds better that way.
That’s a very reasonable price for 6month old (perhaps too reasonable?). But I’m not sure I believe the label, that doesn’t look like AOC french comté to me (and it’s con-tay, not cone-tay, if we are being picky😉)
It’s from France and it does say AOC on it. But that is $10.99 per pound, not kilo. You’re correct, it is con-tay, not cone-tay. As long as it’s pronounced cōn, not cŏn.
Yes, that’s the accurate vowel sound, I don’t know all the correct symbols, especially for French vowel sounds!
Chantal is from the Département de l’ Oise and I always hear a hint of an “n” sound in her “comté”. Maybe it depends on where you live?
It is possible to buy ridiculously old Cantal but in my opinion the cheese doesn’t really improve after a year, where as Cheddar can often go to two years, though again, 18months is about the limit for me … not acid and a sound body but with flavour that just expands and expands.
