Could drought change the taste of some of France’s best-known cheeses?
Production rules have been relaxed to ensure cattle get enough food – but will quality suffer?
Published
France has temporarily relaxed some of its strict rules when it comes to the production of several famous regional cheeses after this summer’s drought left farmers struggling to find enough grass and hay for their herds.
The cheeses concerned include Abondance, Beaufort, and Comté, whose protected designation of origin (AOP) status requires producers to follow detailed rules about where their animals graze and what they eat.
However, for Abondance producers in Haute-Savoie, the drought made the rules too difficult to follow.
“This is a welcome and common-sense decision given this alarming drought situation,” said Joel Vindret, director of the Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Fromage Abondance (abondance cheese syndicate - SIFA) to The Connexion.
“The aim remains to feed the herds in the best possible conditions despite the sharp decline in grass and hay. This therefore calls for exceptional measures.”
Abondance is a traditional raw-milk cheese made exclusively in the mountains of Haute-Savoie. During the summer, many herds are taken to alpine pastures, where their diet is primarily based on grass.
Under the AOP specifications, the animals’ diet must be based mainly on grass grazed in summer and, during winter, on dried grass in the form of hay and second-cut hay. The feed must also come from within the Abondance appellation area.
“If we were to follow these rules this summer and for the coming winter, we would be unable to feed the herds properly,” Mr Vindret said.
The temporary changes authorised by the government give farmers greater flexibility over the source and quantity of feed available to their cattle.
Will the cheese taste different?
Mr Vindret does not expect the temporary measures to affect the taste of Abondance this year.
“Abondance does not have a standardised taste because it is a raw-milk cheese, and the milk therefore naturally varies somewhat from one dairy to another,” he said.
He also explained that the temporary changes do not mean producers abandoning the basic feeding principles behind the cheese.
“For this year, we do not expect a deterioration in taste because the diet of the herds remains based on grass and hay,” Mr Vindret said.
He added that the flavour of the finished cheese depends on a range of factors that go beyond what the animal eats.
“Many other factors come into play, including the cheesemakers' expertise and the conditions and duration of maturation, which remains long (at least 100 days).”
The temporary exemptions are designed to deal with the exceptional shortage of grass and hay rather than permanently alter the identity of the cheese.
“These measures should only be requested in exceptional circumstances,” Mr Vindret said.
“Our AOP specifications continue to maintain many advantages, such as respect for cheesemaking know-how, local breeds of cattle - including the Abondance breed for our cheese - and a diet that remains based on grass, with a ban on GMO (genetically modified organisms) cereals and fermented feed such as silage.”
Finally, Mr Vindret explained that producers are already taking steps to adapt to a hotter climate following this year’s historic heatwaves.
“Our producers are already taking action to adapt to climate change, including ventilation of livestock buildings, installations to better regulate the temperature in the production rooms and maturing cellars, providing shade in fields and optimising the grass resource,” he said.
