Savoie Specialties
Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 6:55AM
Sarah Towle in Haute Savoie, Reblochon

Until the development of ski tourism in the 20th century, the Haute Savoie was a remote mountain region known for cattle farming. Traditional Savoyard cuisine reflects this in its rich array of cheeses. The most famous cheese, Reblochon, boasts a history dating to the 13th century. Feudal peasant-farmers then grazed their cows on mountain pastures belonging to the medieval manor. They paid the master in milk. On the day he came to collect his due, the farmers would only partially milk the cows. A second milking resulted in a much fattier product, which they used to make cheese. Its name comes from the French word “re-blocher”, meaning to re-milk.

Sources:
http://www.campingcheque.com/docs/pdfuk/savoieuk.pdf
http://www.cheese-france.com/cheese/reblochon.htm

Image:
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Article originally appeared on Time Traveler Tours - Interactive iPhone / iPod Touch iTineraries for Youth and Student Educational Travel (http://timetravelertours.squarespace.com/).
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