The area has no fewer than 5 AOC cheeses: Reblochon, Beaufort, Tome des Bauges, Abondance and Chevrotin. In addition, Emmental and Tomme de Savoie are governed by an IGP guaranteeing their provenance and production conditions.

The milk for these cheeses is produced by two breeds of mountain cow, Tarine and Abondance, although the area also produces top-quality goat's cheeses

Website :  fromagesdesavoie.fr

Reblochon

In 1958, Reblochon became one of the first cheeses in France to obtain an AOC. It originated in the Thônes Valley, in Haute-Savoie, in the 13th century as an early form of tax avoidance. In fact, very few farmers in the Middle Ages owned the land they worked and they had to pay the landowners grazing rights for their cattle. These grazing rights were calculated as a function of the quantity of milk produced by the herd. In order to reduce the amount of tax they had to pay, farmers did not milk their cows fully, stopping while there was still some milk left in the udder. When the landowner had gone, the remaining milk was taken. The creamy milk obtained behind the owners’ backs could not be conserved and the fraud had to be masked. To do this, the farmers produced a cheese, which they named "Reblochon" after the local dialect word “re-blocher”, which means “squeeze the cow’s udder again”..
Recipe: Tartiflette

Website:  reblochon.fr

Beaufort "Prince des Gruyères"

AOC since 1968
After being pressed and salted, Beaufort cheeses are stored in a cool cellar for 5 to 10 months, during which time they are carefully turned and rubbed with a mixture of salt and cheese rind called "la morge". Characterised by a fruity flavour and delicate aroma, Beaufort can also be recognised by its concave perimeter, formed by the pressure of the moulding hoop over several months.
Recipe: Fondue savoyarde, Talmouses au Beaufort

Website: fromage-beaufort.com

Abondance

AOC since 1990

Manufactured since the Middle Ages by monks who settled in the Chablais, Abondance very quickly found a place on the best tables of the Court of Savoie. It is matured for 3 to 6 months in a cool, damp cellar, stored on spruce boards ("tablards") and regularly rubbed and turned. Abondance is a semi-hard cheese with a sharp fruity flavour.  

Recipe: Berthoud

Website : fromageabondance.fr

Chevrotin

AOC since 2002  

Chevrotin has been made and enjoyed since the 12^th century, a time when every mountain dweller had a few goats to feed his family. The milk from these goats was used to produce this little cheese.

Chevrotin is a farmhouse goat's cheese that is made manually once or twice a day using the same process as for making Reblochon. This gives the cheese the characteristics of a pressed pate, non-cooked cheese.

Its soft, creamy and very tasty pate is hidden by a slightly pink rind covered in fine white mould.

Tome des Bauges

AOC since 2002
Not to be confused with Tomme de Savoie: Tome des Bauges has only one “m”, not two. Its name is derived from the local dialect word "Toma", which means "cheese made in the alpine meadows". Regularly turned and rubbed by hand, the characteristic grey rind of Tome des Bauges is dotted with yellow and red “flowers”, whereas its pate provides a particularly rich combination of flavours.

Website : tome-des-bauges.com

Tomme de Savoie

IGP since 1996

Rooted in the history of the Duchy of Savoie, Tomme de Savoie is the oldest and the most popular of all Savoie’s cheeses. In former times it was made in every farm. Many regions produce a cheese they call "tomme". The name "Tomme de Savoie" is strictly reserved for cheeses that are produced entirely – milk, cheese-making and maturing – in the “départements” of Savoie and Haute-Savoie. In order to protect this authenticity, the rind of every Tomme de Savoie now bears the word “Savoie”, either on the top, or on the circumference. Tomme de Savoie offers a wide variety of colours, forms and tastes, and is produced with fat contents ranging from 20 to 45%, as well as from full-cream milk.

Website : tomme-de-savoie.com

Emmental de Savoie

IGP since 1996

Emmental, like Beaufort, is a member of the Beaufort family. It derives its name from its valley of origin, the Emme in Switzerland. It was first produced in the middle of the 19th century, a result of the migration of Swiss-German cheese makers to the east of France. It is the biggest cheese made in the two Savoies, with around 1,000 litres of milk going into each 70 kg wheel. The maturing process starts in a cold cellar, and then continues in a warm cellar. This change of atmosphere allows the pate to take on its beautiful yellow colour and to form its characteristic holes, known as “eyes”.

Website : emmental-de-savoie.com

Other, less well-known cheeses are produced in smaller quantities, including Tamié, Bleu de Termignon, Persilé des Aravis, Sérac and Vacherin. 

Tamié

This cheese is easy to recognize from its label bearing a blue Maltese Cross – the sign of the monastery. The monks of Tamié Abbey have produced this succulent cheese, which is similar to Reblochon, since 1862.

Website : abbaye-tamie.com

Bleu de Termignon

Traditional cheese from the Haute-Maurienne, which is only made in the area around the village of Termignon.

Persillé de Tarentaise

A blue cheese made in the Tarentaise Valley.

Sérac

Just like its namesake ice cliffs of the high mountains, serac is brilliant white. It is made from whey that is re-pressed to form small, round or square pats. It goes very well with potatoes, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Vacherin des Bauges

This is a very ancient cheese that was already being served at the table of the Dukes of Savoie in the Middle Ages.

It is made in the Bauges Mountains using cow’s milk.