Salers is a farmhouse version of Cantal cheese.
Cantal is made in Auvergne, France; Salers is a small village within the Cantal production zone.
Salers is like Cantal in almost every way, Cantal is the “commercial, industrial version” made with pasteurized cow’s milk.
Saler is made with unpasteurized cow’s milk only from Salers cattle owned by the cheesemaker, and is therefore made in smaller quantities. It has a more intense flavour than Cantal. It is made by about 100 farmers (as of 1998.)
The Salers version of Cantal was awarded a French AOC in its own right (Cantal cheese also has an AOC.) By the terms of the regulations, it can only be made with milk obtained between 15 April and 15 November each year.
The curd is not cooked, but is pressed into cylinder-shaped moulds. The cheese comes out 19 inches (48 cm) wide by 18 inches (45 cm) tall. The rind is hard, dry and beige-grey, becoming rough as it ages. Each cheese wheel weighs about 88 pounds (40 kg.)
The cheese is aged anywhere from 3 to 18 months.
Nutrition
Salers Cheese has a 45% fat content.
History Notes
Salers Cheese received its AOC in 1979.