Hello cheese lover! Comté. Soufflé. We are in heaven.
♥ ♥ ♥
A bit about this cheese: First of all, Comté (pronounced con-tay) is produced in France in the Jura mountains bordering Switzerland.
The farmers raise Montbéliarde cows (95% of the herds) or French Simmental (5%), and feed them a natural diet based on fresh grass during the summer months and hay during the winter.
The flora in the Jura Massif is very diverse and, depending on where they are located, cows may graze on different plants. This is reflected in the milk and, ultimately, in the varying flavours of the cheese.
Each day the farmers deliver their milk to their local fruitière (cheesemaking house). Each fruitière has its own distinct profile related to the aromatic characteristics of the Comté that it produces. These aromatic characteristics reflect the terroir (or soil, climate, flora, etc.) of where the cheese is produced.
One fruitière is characterized by aromas of melted butter, milk chocolate, hazelnuts and fudge. When the cheeses are aged beyond 15 months, aromas of toast, plum compote, leather, pepper and dark chocolate are apparent.
Another produces Comté that is dominated by butterscotch aromas with a hint of toast, followed by fruity aromas such as hazelnut, roasted nuts, sweet orange juice and ripe apricot. With longer aging, the aromas of hazelnut and orange become more pronounced.
I cannot read these descriptors and not pine for this cheese. For more information please visit comte.com. It’s a very informative site (and you’ll get a kick out of the picture of the cows)!
Overview of Steps to Make a Soufflé
Melt butter, add flour whisking for 2 minutes,
then whisk in milk.
Let cool slightly, add egg yolks.
Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Fold in grated Comté.
(I spy Tomato Tarte Tatin waiting in the background).
Beat egg whites with a bit of salt until stiff.
Gently fold egg whites into the béchamel mixture.
Fill ramekins (buttered, chilled, with grated cheese on bottom) with soufflé batter. Sprinkle more grated cheese on top and bake at 400°F until golden. Resist temptation to open the oven door while they cook. When they are done, serve immediately!
I hope Fr. Adam and I are able to convey here how easily done, fun, and satisfying it is to make cheese soufflés. We thoroughly enjoyed the process. Perhaps you’ll find this overview inspiring? The recipe we used comes from the engaging Chocolate & Zucchini Cookbook. We’d love to hear about your favorite soufflés too, as there are definitely more soufflés in our future!
oh! it looks so fluffy and cheesy,i just want to take a bite.
Very cool website. The look on that cow made me feel like a voyeur. And the farms…wow. Happy cows definitely come from Comte’, as well.
Not to mention the souffles!
I love cheese souffles. Mine tend to look a bit raggedy and uneven, though. The browned tops look so appetizing.
I’m hungry now !
This is comfort and decadence poured into one ramkin. Yum! Happy holidays to you and yours.
thank you, thank you, thank you!! you’ve gotten rid of my “recipe writers block” to help inspire our 1st course for Christmas Eve. I’ll credit you for inspiration when we post the recipe on our blog.
this looks amazing and comte is one of our favorite cheeses. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
I can’t believe I missed this cheese (or at least I don’t recall it’s name) from my trip to the region. Merde! Hopefully I will be able to taste it sometime soon. Les soufflés sont très jolis 😉 They’re so beautifully puffed!
I love souffles. My favorite recipe has zucchini and carrots, and a bechamel sauce made with oil and broth. Your souffles look very nice. I am ready to dive into one!
I AM in heaven, Lori Lynn! Love this!
Souffles seem scary to me, your post makes it seem doable!
I just made cheese souffles in my cooking school. We used gruyere and parmesan but I love a good comté. They look beautifully risen. They are surprisingly easier to make than they seem. I love all I learned about comté.
Fabulous ingredients in a single serving portion is just so perfect. I’ve never seen this cheese but I’ll be looking for it now – especially since I can pronounce it too 🙂
I would gladly taste test those cheesy wonderful delights ANYTIME!
YUM!
I think I will definitely try that shrimp risotto dish… YUM!
LOVE visiting your site!
Fifi
This just made me happy! Really!
Oooh, I LOVE comte!!! And I'm also a big fan of Chocolate & Zucchini, so I guess that it's fair to say that I would be in full support of making/serving/eating this dish.
I almost never make souffle as a first course because the real estate in my mini-wee oven is usually at such a premium, but things like this remind me to start considering stove top entrees…….
you made it looks so easy… thanks for the step by step… 🙂 happy holidays to you… 🙂
Souffles always seemed difficult to make to me, but it doesn’t look so bad after all.
Ramekins were made for Souffles and I really must finally make a cheese one.
Great read on Comte and I’m going to the site now.
They look amazing, just amazing.
Mmmmm! I love souffles. And, yes they are easy. I like making them with carrots. Perfect for when you have more carrots than you really need.
Lori Lynn, here's wishing you the happiest of holidays and may the new year bring you continued love & laughter.
With love,
Amy
Lori, may Jesus bless you and your family! I wish you a new year full of blessings, health and Peace!!
Best regards from Brazil!
Paula
Looks very classy. I’ve never tried Comté, so I’ll have to keep this in mind.
Happy Hanukkah!
thanks again for the inspiration. we gave you a shout-out on our post about fish souffle which is what you helped inspire w/ this beautiful dish!