Selection Begins and Ends With the Terroir

The nature of the soil, the climate, the variety of the milk-producing animals, and the character of the people of a given place all go into determining the cru of a cheese, that is, its specific origin, its taste, and its flavor.

It all begins in the pastures and meadows whose fresh grasses serve as food for the animals, with the variety of ewes (Basco-Béarnaise, Manech, Lacaune), goats (Poitevine, Alpine, Pyrénéenne, Rove), and cows (Normande, Montbéliarde, Frisonne-Pie-Noire, Tarentaise, Abondance, Rouge Flamande, Salers, Vosgienne). The quality and richness of the pastures determines the quality of the milk produced en cru, and therefore the quality of the farmstead cheese, since the milk is nothing more or less than the expression of the land where it is produced, the terroir.

This is why Androuët makes it a principle to know each terroir, visiting the herds and grazing lands in order to be familiar with the exact origin of each product. This informs the process of selection.

In recognizing a fine cheese to be offered to our clientele, sight and touch are the first senses that come into play. And each cheese must be tasted to discover the personality of each farmstead cheese. That is why we ourselves select the products that will bear the Androuët label – most of them after having been cured in our cellar. Some cooked-curd cheeses like Comté, Beaufort, and Parmesan, after being reserved several years in advance, remain with the producer to be cured.

Selection means:

• Seeking out and finding the best farmstead and artisanal cheeses, refusing to be guided by habit and prejudgment.

• Being committed to the idea of respecting nature and the seasons, because all cheeses are not the same at all times of the year, and some are not produced during certain seasons.

• Maintain faultless sanitary standards, for the simple reason that cheese is a living product and as such is fragile.

In the respect of its continuous, almost century-old tradition, handed down from one generation to the next, the house of Androuët has deliberately avoided centralized buying as much as possible in favor of working hand in hand with valued producers whose skill has been recognized.

This constant review of our products and choices is what makes it possible for Androuët to offer not only the best well-known cheeses, but also exclusive products from France of course, but also from Belgium, Spain, Britain, Italy, and Switzerland.