Cheese Database

Époisses vs Vacherin Mont d'Or

Époisses, field guide plate
Époisses, photographed

Époisses

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Soft
Type
Washed rind
Rind
Washed rind
Country
France
Place
Burgundy
Status
PDO

Époisses is a soft cow's-milk cheese from Burgundy, and a protected name. The rind is washed with marc de Bourgogne, the local grape spirit, while the cheese ages.

Vacherin Mont d'Or

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Soft
Type
Washed rind
Rind
Washed rind
Country
France
Place
Franche-Comté

Vacherin Mont d'Or is a soft cow's milk cheese from Franche-Comté, in France, packed in a round spruce box. A strap of spruce bark holds the wheel, because a ripe paste is too soft to stand on its own. The rind is washed, pink to amber, and often a little wrinkled. The interior is pale cream, and a ready wheel can be eaten with a spoon. A related cheese is made in Switzerland, but the cheese on this card is the one from Franche-Comté.