Know your cheeses and their seasons: which to eat in France in May

May sees the full arrival of spring – and this year, a mini-heatwave – and a changing culinary landscape. 

Out are the winter warmers, replaced with fresh foods full of fruits and vegetables. 

Surprisingly, the changing season also affects which cheeses are freshly available in France. 

Similar to fruits, it means year-round there are freshly available cheeses coming into their own, that can elevate any board or dish. 

Online cheesemonger la boite du fromager outlines its seasonal picks, which we cover on a monthly basis as part of an ongoing series. 

Fresh and powerful cheeses are common this month 

May is the end of spring for cheesemongers, rounding out the exciting fresh and floral cheeses before summer arrives with bold flavours. 

A mix of cheeses is recommended, bringing punchy notes and perfect for mixing with other spring ingredients for outside eating and lighter dishes as the days get warmer and longer. 

Bleu de Causses 

Starting off with a blue cheese, this southern French variant is fairly mild compared to other counterparts such as Roquefort. 

It is an unpasteurised cow’s milk cheese, with a high fat content of around 45%. 

It is matured for three to six months in the limestone caves of the Gorges du Tarn. 

Earlier versions of the cheese were mentioned as far back as Roman times, and this kind of cheese has been a staple of the Occitanie area of France since. 

It achieved AOP status in 1949, although it has less strict rules than some other products (for example, the milk does not need to come from a specific type of cow, as is the case with many Alpine or Normandy cheeses). 

However, it can only be produced in certain communes of the Lot, Aveyron, and Lozère departments.

Read more: What are IGP/AOC/AOP labels on French products?

Around 435 tonnes of the cheese were produced in 2017, less than more famous blue counterparts. 

Fourme d'Ambert

The second cheese recommended is also blue and from the south of France. 

Fourme d'Ambert is from the traditional Auvergne area of France and is made from either raw or pasteurised cow’s milk. 

It is aged at least 28 days, up to a maximum of four months (less than the Bleu de Causses above) giving it a more delicate and floral note.

It is formed in a unique cylindrical shape, and is usually purchased in circular slices. Variants also see parsley added to the cheese for extra flavour. 

The cheese has been produced since ancient times, and a carving representing an earlier version of the cheese can be found in the chapel of La Chaulme (Puy-de-Dôme).

Far more popular and famous than Bleu de causses, over 5,000 tonnes were produced in 2017, and alongside Roquefort is the staple blue cheese in France (both use the same mold to form the blue cheese). 

It received AOC status in 1972, then AOP status in 2006. Until 2002, Fourme d’Ambert and Fourme de Montbrison were considered the same, but now subtle differences in production and the two cheeses are distinct. 

Reblochon

Perhaps a surprising entry, as the cheese is known as the basis for the wintry tartiflette, this is an Alpine cheese from the Haute-Savoie department.

With a soft washed-rind, the cheese is made from unpasteurised cow’s milk and is a return to the mountainous cheeses recommended over the winter period. 

Local folklore suggests the name of the cheese is derived from the word "reblocher" which when literally translated means ‘to pinch a cow's udder again’. 

Traditionally, landowners and feudal landlords would take a certain amount of milk from cows herded by local peasants, as a form of tax. 

These peasants would not fully milk the cow – keeping some of the precious goods back for themselves – which they would not do until the landlord had left. This second milk was far richer, and used to make reblochon. 

With a white outer rind and creamy, saffron-like inside, the cheese is rich and creamy, and has held AOC status since 1958. 

Over 15,000 tonnes of the cheese were produced in 2017, making it hugely popular in France.

Despite its status as a mountain cheese, it is lighter in fat content (around 27%) making it perfect for a cheeseboard in spring… perhaps not for a tartiflette at this time of year though! 

Mozzarella 

This cheese likely needs no introduction, ubiquitous with spring and summer dishes.

Mozzarella is a semi-soft cheese made using a special method of rolling out and stretching cheese curds. 

Unlike most of the other cheeses on the list, it can be made from several different types of milk, most commonly cow (Mozzarella fior di latte) or water buffalo (Mozzarella di bufala campana). The latter has a protected status in Europe and the UK. 

Some mozzarella cheese is also made with sheep or goat milk. 

Often used in salads, pizza, and pasta dishes, the cheese comes in various sizes, usually a larger sphere or several small balls. 

The cheese can vary greatly in taste depending on whether it has a high or low moisture content, and whether it is soaked in brine or shredded.

Due to its popularity, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of the cheese are made worldwide, particularly in Europe and the US. 

In France alone, well over 30,000 tonnes of mozzarella (of all kinds) was sold in France in 2021.