For generations, people have been telling the story of how the recipe for Vacherin came to Charbonnières. In 1871 the troops of General Bourbaki were retreating through the forests of the Jura. It was one of the coldest winters in living memory and the snow was deep. To force their way through the snow, the French soldiers drove a herd of cows in front of them, led by their cowherd called Roguin. And he was the man who held the famous secret - how to produce Vacherin Mont-d'Or!

He settled down in the area, had lots of children, and spread the good word far and wide... It's a touching little story but, alas, not scrupulously accurate.

26 years before…

That is the question, as our English friends would say. The fact is that the summit of Mont-d'Or is firmly in France and the high pastures go right up to Mont Risoux, just on the border. So - was it on the Swiss side or the French side that they produced the goat cheese called Chevrotin, back around 1800? Because this was the ancestor of Vacherin.

What probably happened was that when they grew short of goat's milk they simply turned to cow's milk and the name changed naturally from Chevrotin to Vacherin. It makes sense.

The start of marketing Vacherin Mont-d’Or