Cancoillotte

Appearance & taste

Cancoillotte is semi-liquid to viscous and slightly sticky. Without flavouring ingredients it is evenly cream-coloured to pale yellow; its smell and taste are reminiscent of milk and butter, with a slight yeasty note. The dry matter amounts to at least 20 %, the fat content to less than 15 % of total weight. The label bears the statement “Fabriqué à partir de lait écrémé” (made from skimmed milk) and, where applicable, the type of flavouring.

Flavouring ingredients may make up at most 20 % in total: spices and seasonings up to 5 %, mushrooms, aromatic plants and nuts up to 10 %, white wine from certain grape varieties, Vin Jaune from the Jura, liqueur wine, vermouth or kirsch up to 20 %. Only natural flavourings are permitted, as well as salt; the Metton may be smoked.

Production

The milk comes from farms that produce at least 70 % of their cows’ basic fodder themselves and have at least 70 ares of main forage area per cow. At least two thirds of the cows in a herd belong to the Montbéliarde, Simmental française or Vosgienne breeds. The cream from the milk is made into butter, the protein-rich skimmed milk into “Metton Blanc”.

The cheese grains of the Metton ripen quickly, with the affineurs monitoring their appearance, taste and smell; the ripened Metton itself must already smell and taste of milk and butter with a slight yeasty note. It is then melted with water and a limited amount of butter so that the fat content stays low. Each melter has their own method, which is passed on within the dairy. Milk production, Metton making, ripening and melting take place in the area, as does packing, because Cancoillotte is filled warm straight after melting.

Origin & history

The area covers the former region of Franche-Comté with the departments of Doubs, Jura, Haute-Saône and Territoire de Belfort, as well as adjacent municipalities in Ain, Côte-d’Or, Haute-Marne, Saône-et-Loire and Vosges. Large temperature swings and plentiful rain spread over the year encourage the growth of grass, and dairy farming carries great weight here.

The milk used to be processed on the farms: the cream went into the butter, and the skimmed milk was made into Metton, which was not edible raw but had to ripen and be melted as Cancoillotte. As long as there were no communal dairies, it was, according to the specification, the “house cheese” par excellence; Metton was also sold at the region’s markets. When melting it, people added ingredients from the household, such as garlic, shallots, nuts, chives, mushrooms or wine, which also made the mixture more liquid. A linguistic atlas of Franche-Comté from 1978 attests to the term since at least the 19th century. Industrial production began after the First World War and developed above all in the mid-20th century; during the Second World War the region had its own food ration coupon for Cancoillotte.