Cheese Database

Saint-Nectaire vs Salers

Saint-Nectaire

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-soft
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
France
Place
Auvergne

Saint-Nectaire is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Auvergne, in central France. It is pressed, not cooked, and formed into a flat round with a gray, mottled rind. The paste is supple, ivory to pale gold, and usually has a few small holes. The smell of the rind suggests damp earth, straw, and a cellar, while the inside stays milky. Farmhouse and dairy versions both exist, and the label tells them apart.

Salers

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
France
Place
Auvergne

Salers is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese from Auvergne, in the highlands of central France. It is made only on farms, and only while the cows are out on pasture. The milk is raw and whole, and it is worked soon after milking. The cheese shares its name with the Salers breed, though not every wheel comes from that breed alone. A thick, dry rind covers a firm golden paste.