Salers cheese
Salers () is a French semi-hard cheese originating from Salers, located in the volcanic region in the Cantal mountains of Massif Central, Auvergne, central France. It is a pressed, uncooked cheese made from Salers cow's milk between the fifteenth of April and the fifteenth of November. It is circular in shape, formed in rounds weighing around . The cheese is aged in caves with temperatures ranging from 6–12° C (43–54° F) for a minimum of 3 months, and up to 45 months Salers de Buron Traditional is only made in stone huts (called a "buron" in  the Auvergne) in the summer months with milk exclusively from the Salers cow. It must also be made in the traditional wooden "gerle". It is best eaten between September and March, after an ageing time of nine months, but it is also excellent all year round. History. Salers is an old cheese that has been produced since antiquity. Salers came to prominence when Maréchal de Senneterre served it at the table of Louis XIV of France. Maréchal de Senneterre is also responsible for the introduction of Saint-Nectaire and Cantal. Salers has benefited from the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) since  1961. Traditional Salers producers are becoming increasingly rare, with less than 100 farmhouse producers remaining today. 1,112 tonnes were produced in 1998 (+15.1% since 1996). All was made in local farms from unpasteurized milk by about one hundred producers. Similar to Cantal. Salers is similar to Cantal cheese – which is produced from the same cows' milk when they are fed on hay during the remaining months of the year – and has been estimated to have been produced in this region for at least 2,000 years.