The Cheese Quest

Laguiole, pronounced 'Layole', is a firm, cow's milk cheese from the French region of Aveyron—more specifically, Aubrac. It is one of France's many cheeses that are protected by the AOC guidelines, meaning that if it is not in the correct region with the milk from the correct breed of cattle, it cannot be called Laguiole.

Aubrac is a plateau in the Massif Central region of southern France, which is reknowned for its domestic beef cattle (also called Aubrac). These animals were originally brought over from Swizterland, because were well suited to the plains of the Aubrac and were bred to thrive there.

From these cattle comes the milk that produces the Laguiole cheese. Laguiole tomes weigh up to 50 kilograms (!) and are matured from 4 to 16 months, becoming slightly more sour as the time goes by. The only licensed manufacturer for this cheese is the Jeune Montagne cooperative.

This cheese is particularly well suited to melting, and is the protagonist in a French dish called Aligot, in which the cheese is combined with mashed potatoes.

In addition to cheese, Laguiole is also well known for the Laguiole knives, which have a foldable blade, much in the style of a pocket knife.