Langres

Unlike most cheeses, AOP Langes is never turned as it ages, so it develops a dip in the middle; the deeper the dip, the older the Langres—and the better, some say, to pour in a dash of the local Champagne.

Made with raw or pasteurized milk and originally ripened on plane tree leaves, it is now aged in cellars, where it develops a bloomy rind. Langres is sold in small cylinders or slices, and is creamy, a bit crumbly, and very mild when young, but never as strong as Epoisses, made just to the east.