The temperatures are getting cooler and cool weather means craving melted cheese!
Winter is fast approaching and temperatures are starting to drop little by little everywhere. We are going to enter the period when what we want most is a good hot meal who waits for us at home when we get home from work. And What better way to cheer yourself up after a cold day than a big raclette? No need to look, there isn't one. Raclette is also among the top favorite dishes of the French, and it is anything but a coincidence: warm, friendly and easy to make, the dish literally has all the advantages. So now is the perfect time for you offer a selection of the best cheesemakers in the Hautes-Alpesto make the most delicious raclettes. Especially since in our department, we have plenty to do and beyond raclette, our local cheesemakers have something to make you salivate!
The Ebrard Cheese Factory, in Chabottes
We begin our selection with a prestigious establishment, in place since the end of the 19th century (1890). A brand which therefore has more than a century of know-how, and which offers a wide selection of sheep's cheese, goat's cheese, and obviously cow's cheese, all coming from the famous Champsaur valley. If you have room for dessert at the end of the meal, they have also been making yogurt and flanks for about twenty years now. Small special feature of the establishment: in addition to a wide choice of homemade cheeses, the Ebrard cheese factory also offers raclette cheese… made from goat's milk! Take our word for it: to try it is to adopt it. Ideal for a big raclette during a slightly cold weekend!
La Durance Cheese Factory, in Guillestre
We now move on to a slightly more recent establishment, but no less prestigious. Fromagerie La Durance was only created in 2002, but in just over 20 years, it has had time to diversify its products, which remain of high quality. The two co-managers offer cheeses made from 3 different raw milks: cow (and organic cow), goat and sheep, all coming from dairy producers in the department. And a little bonus, which will be of particular interest to our raclette lovers: 11 different raclette cheeses are offered in the catalog. From the most classic (plain, wild garlic, 3 peppers), to the craziest, like that with Pesto, or Savory, or even with 3 organic berries. Obviously, you can also choose between different types of tomes and traditional cheeses from the region!
The Col Bayard Dairy, in Laye
The Champsaur valley is definitely well represented in our selection! At the same time, it's normal, the landscape is magnificent and above all, the geology allows livestock farming to be done in a reasonable manner, with greater respect for the animals and products. Laiterie du Col Bayard knows what it is, with its 90 years of history and its almost century-old know-how. In addition to a large selection of artisanal cheeses, the Dairy also offers a whole range of artisanal charcuterie, beer, biscuits, and even eggs! Enough to buy everything you need for a good raclette in a single store. And if you're ever too lazy to cook, don't panic: a large dining room is available for reservation.
The Château-Queyras Cheese Factory in Chateau-Ville-Vieille
It is in a small village, located almost on the border between France and Italy, that we find this cheese factory with a very particular operation. It collects milk from 10 farms located in the North of the Hautes-Alpes, coming only from rustic breeds such as Montbéliardes and Tarentaises, fed with local hay. The result is excellent, artisanal cheeses, with several products that would be perfect for raclette and with poetic names: Edelweiss, Estoilie, and certain goat cheeses that also work very well for raclette, in addition to Tommes. which look delicious in photos. You will definitely find what you are looking for there!
The Ubaye Cheese Factory in Barcelonnette
We end this selection with a small cheese dairy located in Barcelonnette, which exists as a cooperative. Created in 1949, it brings together 11 mountain dairy farms, and the entire range offered in their catalog benefits from the prestigious mountain appellation. On the menu, pressed cheeses, fresh cheeses, mountain tommes, but also yogurts and faitselles, for those with a sweet tooth, each time with products that can be made from cow's milk as well as milk. of goat. A fairly small range of products, but they preferred to focus on quality, with for example the 5 kilo raclette wheels, matured for 8 weeks in the cooperative's maturation tunnel. If you can't find what you need in cheese with this, it's because you have bad will!
