Abondance

Appearance & taste

Abondance is a flat round wheel, 7 to 8 cm high, with a slightly concave side, and weighs 6 to 12 kg. The smeared rind is golden yellow to brown and bears the texture of the cheesecloth. The paste is soft, melting and not elastic, ivory to pale yellow, usually with a few small, evenly distributed holes and sometimes fine cracks. The cheese contains at least 48 % fat in dry matter and at least 58 % dry matter.

According to the specification, it differs from other semi-hard cheeses in its smaller wheel, the concave side, the soft texture and a complex range of aromas, usually with a slightly bitter note.

A plaque is attached to the side of each wheel during pressing: square and red for cheese from a dairy, oval and green for farm cheese, which also bears the word “fermier”. Next to it are the day and month of production. If the cheese is sold prepacked in pieces, each piece must have rind on three sides.

Production

Only milk from cows of the Abondance, Tarentaise and Montbéliarde breeds is used; at least 45 % of the herd belong to the Abondance breed. In summer at least 50 % of the basic ration is pasture grass, in winter hay without a quantity limit. The cows spend at least 150 days on pasture in summer. At most 35 % of the feed may come from outside the area, and supplementary feed is limited to 1,800 kg per cow per year. Silage, fermented feed and hay from film-wrapped bales are prohibited, as is growing genetically modified plants on the farm.

The raw milk is made into cheese with rennet, with its original fat content and without any treatment that changes its flora, using the technique for semi-hard cheeses. The cheese is shaped and pressed in a hoop and ripens for at least 100 days. Milk production, cheesemaking and ripening take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area starts from the Pays d’Abondance with the Vallée d’Abondance, which lies in the Chablais in the north-east of Haute-Savoie. Its location, the nearness of Lake Geneva and the dense forest shape its climate. On pre-Alpine and subalpine limestone, high summer rainfall produced gentle landforms, and mountain pastures with a very species-rich flora could be cleared. The Abondance breed takes its name from the Abondance valley; the animals are hardy and adapted to the climate and altitude.

According to the specification, the cheese has been made in the region for several centuries. As early as the 13th century, the canons of the Abbey of Abondance encouraged its production by making it easier to clear pastures. The mountain pastures are still farmed as “montagne individuelle”, that is by each family alone, without pooling herds; this form is traditionally linked to making cheese on the farm. The specification explains the comparatively small wheel by this. According to the specification, the shape given by the hoop holds the soft cheese together better, especially when it is carried from the mountain pasture down to the valley. A not insignificant share is still made on farms, but the methods have also been passed on to dairies.