Cancoillotte, the cheese that's cult and low in calories

Although it is less well known than Comté or Morbier, Cancoillotte is nevertheless one of the Jura Mountains' must-try cheeses. It is low in calories and can be eaten hot or cold. Try it once and you'll be addicted.

a delicious surprise

A cult cheese of the Jura Mountains

Cancoillotte is the ultimate valley cheese, from the lowlands. Because high in the mountains and on the plateaus where milk was abundant, it was used to make gruyère.

This soft cheese is obtained from a mixture of "metton" (skimmed, heated raw-milk curd), water, and butter added at the end of the production process.

In the local region, cancoillotte is nicknamed "colle" (glue) because of its sticky consistency.

Did you know?

Historical anecdote

Dating back more than 2,000 years, this cheese was first produced on an industrial scale when Laurent Raguin sterilised it and packed it in metal tins to supply the WWI French soldiers of Franche-Comté.

Manon Nevers / Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Tourisme

How to eat cancoillotte

Cancoillotte can be eaten cold on a slice of bread with the cheese platter at the end of a meal, or with walnuts and a wine from Franche-Comté, or hot with a main dish.

Try it as a filling for baked potatoes, in a courgette gratin, or in a white-wine sauce. Cancoillotte comes plain and in a wide range of flavours, including garlic, vin jaune and even porcini!

Cancoillotte is one of the lowest-calorie cheeses (5 to 10% fat content), so you can indulge without feeling guilty!

Typical recipe

Potatoes with Cancoillotte

Ingredients

2 pots of cancoillotte
12 potatoes
Montbéliard or Morteau sausages
2 garlic cloves

Instructions

Wash the potatoes and cook them whole in their skins, by steaming or baking them, for example.
Cook the Montbéliard or Morteau sausages in boiling water.
Heat the cancoillotte, either in a bain-marie or in a microwave oven.
Pour the hot cancoillotte over the potatoes and serve with the sausages and a sprinkling of garlic.

Another way to enjoy cancoillotte is in a Franche-comté-style salad!