The Cantal is a French pressed uncooked cheese which has the shape of a tall cylinder block.
Its comes from the Massif Central and is made from pasteurised milk.
It has been granted an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) by France and an AOP/PDO by Europe. 400 liters of milk are necessary to make a 40 kg cheese wheel. It takes 33 hours to make a Cantal.
The ripening period varies according to the type of Cantal :
Cantal jeune : 30 to 60 days
Cantal entre-deux : 90 to 210 days
Cantal vieux : a minimum of 240 days
Recipe : cheese sandwich with apple and fig
Here are the different steps :
Preheat the oven at 210°C
Wash the apple, hollow it out and cut it into thin slices. Leave the skin on.
Cut the figs in halves
Place the apple and the fig portions on each slice of bread
Add the chopped hazelnuts and the Cantal slices
Put in the oven for about 5 min. The bread must be golden-brown and the cheese melted.
