Cantal
Cheese
Top 10 pairings
Cantal is a firm, uncooked, pressed cow's-milk cheese from the Auvergne region of south-central France, named for the Cantal mountains and the département around them. One of France's oldest cheeses, it is tangy and nutty when young and sharp, almost cheddar-like, as it ages.
Picking a good onedrag
Firm, tangy, clean cut faceSweating, cracked, rancid
Wrapped a whileEveryday bestFarm Cantal is always raw milk. Pregnant people, over-65s, the immunocompromised: buy pasteurised or heat it steaming hot (CDC). France keeps raw Cantal from under-5s.
Cut faceEven colour, the face a shade duller
The rindDry and intact, scuffed from cutting and wrapping
Smell at the cutMilky and nutty, the aroma a little quieter