On the milky way: discovering dairy in France’s Jura Mountains

Better with ageBut comté’s real character — its fruity, nutty notes and buttercup-yellow hues — doesn’t come from the cellars of a fruitière. And so we arrive at the village of Les Rousses: at the enormous Fort des Rousses, a former military complex whose cold, dark passageways — kept a constant 7C by seven-metre-thick walls — make it the perfect setting for the next chapter in comté’s story.“Every cheese is unique,” says guide Bernard Detrez from JuraFlore, an affinage company based in the fort. “We put old and young cheeses next to each other as they affect each other’s maturation, and therefore the taste. Comté is a cheese that’s always evolving. It’s always different.”Passageways snake off in all directions, each one flanked with shelves of cheese that glow like bullion in the dim light. There are 135,000 of them in this building alone, which goes some way to explain the heady, fungal aroma that follows us through the fort.As Bernard lays out slivers of cheese for us to taste he explains that, by law, comté has to be matured for a minimum of four months. The cheeses matured here are aged for at least a year. We tuck in: the 12-month-old cheese is bright and light, with creamy, almost peachy notes, while the nutty 18-monther strikes a balance between mild and punchy. The comté aged for 24 months, by contrast, is far richer, woodier — truffle, perhaps? — and speckled with crystals of amino acid that have hardened over time.

There’s a difference in the colour, too. “If it’s dark, it’s made with summer milk, when the cows eat flowers and grasses,” explains Tas. “If it’s pale, the milk probably comes from the winter months, when they eat only hay.”“You see, no two comtés are the same,” adds Bernard. “If a customer tells us they loved one particular comté, we’ll never be able to replicate it. But I say to them, if you want uniformity, buy Dairylea!”Later that afternoon, Tas takes me back to the farm, to another herd for their evening scattering of feed. We cross the field, its grass humming with crickets, and edge closer to a body of water that shimmers in the dwindling daylight.“Welcome to the Lac de Bouverans,” Tas says, as I watch little fish dart between the reeds. Further out there’s a paddle-boarder silhouetted against the sun, and a pair of swans drift like paper boats across the surface. “Two years ago this lake lost nearly all its water,” he says. It’s a phenomenon caused by the lake’s porous, chalky bed, which means in as little as seven days the entire basin can drain itself. “All you saw here was mud. We managed to save a lot of the fish, which was a miracle.”But now, from this little wooden pier, it’s a scene that’s hard to picture as clear water quietly laps the shore. As Tas stoops to splash his face, I hear the faraway tinkle of a cowbell. Cicadas roar from the grasses and reeds. Birds chirp. Grasshoppers, too. At dusk, just as at dawn, the Jura begins to sing.

Local specialities

Saucisse de Morteau

Named after the town in which they were first made, these plump sausages are a staple on local charcuterie platters. They get their deep russet colour and distinct, rich taste from being smoked for 48 hours over local fir branches. Traditionally, they’re strung up and smoked in a tuyé, a sort of pyramid-shaped chimney.  saucissedemorteau.com

Absinthe

Good absinthe is a world away from those lurid green, hallucinogenic potions of 19th-century Paris. Fragrant and subtle, the firewater is best drunk diluted with ice-cold water and mixed with sugar to taste. Try the variety from La Fraignaude, an artisan distillery in Frasne, where it’s flavoured with absinthe flower, black anise and fennel. facebook.com/pages/category/Product-Service/La-Fraignaude-Distillerie-Artisanale-377248652717199/Poulet de Bresse

The only poultry with AOP (protected designation of origin) status, the poulet de Bresse might be the world’s most princely chicken. Since the 16th century, the white-feathered fowl has been revered by everyone from Michelin-starred chefs to French royalty for its succulent texture, golden colour and rich taste, which come from a lavish diet of insects, grass and maize. pouletdebresse.fr

Vin jaune

The production of ‘yellow wine’ has been restricted to this corner of the country since the 1930s. It gets its distinctive straw colour from its lengthy ageing process: six years in a barrel beneath a growing layer of yeast. Although this isn’t a fortified wine, it has a sweet, intense aroma of dried fruit that’s not unlike sherry or port, and is strong enough to stand up to bold cheeses like comté or gruyère.

Where to eat

Restaurant du Fromage, Malbuisson

No prizes for guessing the dish of the day at this charming little spot, which is decked out head-to-toe in carved wood and local knick-knacks. Fondue is the way to go here: a bubbling caquelon of local cheeses comes with plenty of bread, potatoes, charcuterie and crudités for dipping. If you can, exercise some self-restraint and leave room for the delicious homemade tarts, cakes and meringues for afters. hotel-le-lac.fr

La Petite Échelle, Rochejean

Sage-green shutters, wildflower meadows, cowbells and donkeys — you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d walked straight into the pages of a Johanna Spyri story. Dating back to the 1400s, this alpine idyll is the perfect pitstop during a walk around Mont d’Or, a beauty spot with spectacular views across the Alps. The multi-talented chef, farmer and wood carver Norbert Bournez is at the helm, serving up morteau, fondue and enormous, golden-brown rösti in cosy, candlelit dining nooks. hebergement-groupe-massif-jura.com

La Table de la Mainaz, Gex

If you like your meals with a view, book a table at this stylish, alpine-inspired hotel and restaurant in the hills above Lake Geneva. With views reaching to majestic Mont Blanc on the horizon, La Table de la Mainaz takes glorious Jurassien produce — local trout, cheeses and herbs — and gives it a sophisticated spin. lamainaz.com

Read Article