03. Cheese by season: Summer

Summer is the best season for uncooked, pressed cheeses (Saint-nectaire and Reblochon) which are fully mature by this time.

All the soft cheeses are still excellent until late summer (Camembert, Brie, Chaource, Epoisses, Langres, Munster, Pont-l’évêque).
The goat’s cheeses are also still good for most of the summer. Their lightness and freshness are perfect during the very hot months (Banon, Cabécou de Rocamadour, Chabichou du Poitou, Crottin de Chavignol, Pélardon, Saint-Maure, Selles-Sur-Cher).

For cheeses that can be kept for long periods (Comté, Gruyère, Beaufort, Laguiole, Salers), these can be excellent if you ask your cheese monger to point out those that were made the previous summer with milk from the mountain summer pasture, and then matured for a long period.

In summer, when composing a cheese platter, the follwing cheeses are advised:
• Cambembert de Normandie, Saine-Maure-de-Touraine, Boulette d'Avesne, Reblochon.
or
• Clacbitou, Sancerrois, Coulommiers, Banon, Pont l'Evêque.