What is the best French cheese?

Soft and creamy versus bold and pungent — this selection covers the full range of French fromage artistry. Which one deserves the crown?

Camembert de Normandie

A soft, creamy, surface-ripened cheese from Normandy with an earthy, mushroomy flavor and a bloomy white rind.

1/14

Brie de Meaux

The king of cheeses, a large soft-ripened wheel from the Ile-de-France region with a rich, buttery, and slightly tangy flavor.

2/14

Roquefort

A pungent, tangy blue cheese made from raw sheep's milk and aged in the limestone caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.

3/14

Comté

A nutty, complex hard cheese from the Jura mountains, aged for months in special cellars and France's most popular AOP cheese.

4/14

Reblochon

A creamy, washed-rind cheese from the French Alps, famously used in tartiflette, with a nutty and slightly fruity flavor.

5/14

Époisses

A bold, pungent washed-rind cheese from Burgundy, bathed in Marc de Bourgogne brandy, with a sticky orange rind and oozy center.

6/14

Morbier

A semi-soft cheese from the Jura region, instantly recognizable by its distinctive dark ash line running through the center.

7/14

Saint-Nectaire

A pressed, uncooked cheese from the Auvergne with a rustic rind and a smooth, supple paste offering earthy, nutty flavors.

8/14

Munster

A strong, aromatic washed-rind cheese from Alsace with a smooth, creamy texture and a flavor that is much milder than its smell suggests.

9/14

Ossau-Iraty

A firm, smooth sheep's milk cheese from the Basque Country and Béarn, with a sweet, nutty taste and slightly floral aroma.

10/14

Beaufort

A grand alpine cheese from Savoie, similar to Gruyère but with a distinctively smooth, fruity, and slightly sweet flavor profile.

11/14

Pont-l'Évêque

One of Normandy's oldest cheeses, a square-shaped soft cheese with a washed rind and a rich, savory, slightly pungent flavor.

12/14

Livarot

A powerful washed-rind cheese from Normandy, nicknamed 'The Colonel' for the five strips of sedge grass wrapped around it.

13/14

Cantal

One of France's oldest cheeses from the Auvergne, a firm, pressed cheese with a tangy, buttery flavor that intensifies with age.

14/14