Culinary Heritage

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Cheeses

The Bleu de Gex

The Bleu de Gex is a blue veined non-pressed and uncooked cheese made with full-cream cow's milk obtained exclusively from herds from Montbéliard. Very natural and very soft, the Bleu de Gex has a strong taste with an aroma of undergrowth. It is available in 34cm (13.4in) diameter wheels, approximately 8 to 10 cm (3.1 to 4 in) high and weighing 7 to 8 kg (15.4 to 17.6 lbs). Its origin goes back to the 13th century when monks from the Abbey of St Claude in the Jura Mountains introduced cheese-making techniques. The “Bleu de Gex” A.O.C. (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée - a French label guaranteeing the origin and quality of a product) was granted with a decree on September 20, 1977.
The Comté du Jura is a very rich flavored unpasteurized, pressed, and uncooked cheese. It is made in 75cm (29.5 in) diameter rounds. About 450 liters (117 gallons) of milk are needed to produce a single 35kg (77 lbs) round of Comté. The Comté is the most popular A.O.C. cheese in France. It is the pride of the inhabitants of the Jura Mountains!

These cheeses as well as some tomme cheeses, fromages blancs, etc. are produced at the Abbey Cheese Factory in Chézery-Forens. Observation windows and an audio-visual aid are available to explain the various stages of manufacturing cheese (mornings only, from 9am to 11am). The shop is open everyday from 8am to 12pm and 5pm to 7pm.

All regional cheeses are also available for purchase in downtown Bellegarde at La Fromagerie: Ph#: 04 50 48 33 66

Honey

The Apiaries of the Valserine in the village of Montanges.

Witness the collection of honey at the bee-keeping operation of Jocelyne and Bernard Moyne. Tours are free, by appointment only, and end with a sampling of the apiaries' products. To know more>>>

In our surrounding regions, you will also find...

Quenelles de Nantua

Pike quenelles (mixture of creamed fish and egg white binding) with Nantua sauce. Authentic Nantua sauce is crayfish butter-based. Only European crayfish (Astacus astacus) are used as they give the Nantua sauce its red color.

Bugey wines

Bugey wines - Bugey's 500 ha (1235 acre) vineyard represents most of the wine production in the Ain. You can discover the richness of their products on site. One should not miss a wine tasting in any of the numerous cellars in the region

A recipe using Gex Blue cheese

Gex Blue Cheese Soufflé (6 servings)

Ingredients: 6 individual soufflé dishes, 70g (11 Tbsp) butter (50g + 20g or 8 Tbsp + 3 Tbsp), 40g (½ cup) flour, ¼ liter (1 cup) milk, 150 g (5.3 oz) veined Gex Blue cheese, 5 eggs and 2 egg whites.

Directions: Use 20g (3 Tbsp) of butter to grease the soufflé molds. Melt 50g (8 Tbsp) of butter, stir in flour. Cook without browning, add milk, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in very thinly sliced Gex Blue cheese. Separate egg whites and stir in yolks one by one away from heat. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into the rest of the preparation and pour into soufflé dishes. Bake at 200°C (390°F) without opening oven. Serve and eat immediately.

Tarte à la Gomme

The “Tarte à la Gomme” is a traditional Bellegarde tart made with custard. Dessert lovers are very fond of them. You can only find them in downtown Bellegarde at the Pâtisserie Coutin.