Marcel Petit Comte Select Cut Wedges

Marcel Petite Comte is a hard cow’s milk cheese made in the Franche-Comte region of Eastern France, predominantly from the Montbeliard breed of cow, with a small percentage from French Simmental.

Made with unpasteurised milk and animal rennet in small dairies called “fruitiers”. Each morning the milk arrives and is pumped into large copper-lined vats. A whey starter then is added (the whey is from the previous day’s make incubated overnight). When full, the vat is stirred and the temperature increased to between 31° and 33°C. The milk is held at this temperature for a period of ‘ripening’ lasting 30-45 minutes. After this a second whey starter is added along with the rennet. The resulting curds are then “cooked” to a temperature of 55°C, transferred to moulds, pressed and salted.

The cheeses are then matured by the fruitiers for 2-4 weeks, before being selected by Marcel Petite to continue ageing in the damp underground cellars of Fort Saint Antoine for 12 months.

A complex flavoured cheese; sweet caramelised onion, rich nuttiness, meaty and even fruity. Enjoy with the white wines of the Jura.