Abondance AOP: The Canons’ Cheese With a Fruity Raclette Melt

In short: Abondance AOP (PDO) is the big Haute-Savoie wheel with the hollow heel, made from raw milk and aged at least one hundred days. Slipped into a raclette pan, it makes a raclette fruitier than most, perfect when you want to wow the in-laws.

Page checked on 11/02/2026 against the producers’ and trade bodies’ official websites. Do you make this cheese? Write to us to be listed in the directory.

Abondance AOP at a glance

Country	France
Region	Haute-Savoie (Abondance Valley, Chablais, Aravis, Bornes)
Designation	AOC since 1990 (INAO), AOP (PDO) since 1996; ODG (managing body): Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Fromage Abondance (SIFA), Thonon-les-Bains
Milk	cow's milk, raw (Abondance, Montbéliarde and Tarine breeds)
Curd	semi-cooked, pressed
Aging	at least 100 days on spruce boards, 4 months recommended (fromagesdesavoie.fr)
Size	wheel of 6 to 12 kg (about 10 kg on average), about 40 cm in diameter, 7 to 8 cm high, concave heel
Flavor	fruity
Melt	4/5: melts soft and stringy, a little less blanketing than a Raclette de Savoie but more aromatic

Its story

The name says it all: a valley, a breed of cow and a cheese, all named after the village of Abondance in the Chablais. According to the association, the valley's cheesemaking history has been tied since the 11th century to Abondance Abbey, where the canons oversaw cheese production throughout the valley. According to fromagesdesavoie.fr, the development of this cheese owes a lot to that religious influence of the Middle Ages. The technique has been handed down without any great revolution: copper vat, curd heated to around 45 to 50 °C, lifted out with a cloth on the farms, and a hoop that gives the concave heel you'd recognize anywhere. The designation of origin dates from 1990. Today, the SIFA brings together about 175 milk producers, 13 dairy production workshops and 75 farmhouse producers, according to fromagesdesavoie.fr. Every autumn, the Abondance fair still celebrates the cheese, the cow and the people who keep them going, and the 2026 edition was the 601st, which says a lot about local loyalty.

Video: © Fromage Abondance (official SIFA channel): the move up to the summer pasture at GAEC Le Géant in Châtel, watch on YouTube

Flavor and melt: what happens in the raclette pan

The amber rind often bears the imprint of the cloth, and the paste is ivory to pale yellow, supple, with small, regular holes. The association describes a flavor of hazelnut and fruit, with a slight, rounded bitterness on the finish; fromagesdesavoie.fr sometimes adds notes of pineapple or citrus. What you remember when tasting is that length on the palate that few raclette cheeses reach. When heated, Abondance melts soft and a little stringy. It blankets less than a pure Raclette de Savoie, but it keeps its dried-fruit aromas instead of losing them in the steam. A young wheel, around four months, is the easiest to melt; an older wheel gets more intense and a bit richer in the raclette pan. Many fans mix it with a classic raclette: one slice of each, and the pan turns into a small gastronomic debate. With the rind, it browns nicely, but some people prefer to remove it to avoid the leathery side.

On the nose and palate: fruity, hazelnut, slight rounded bitterness, sometimes notes of pineapple or citrus according to fromagesdesavoie.fr

How to serve it

For raclette, plan on 200 g of Abondance per person if it's the only cheese, or 100 g as a complement to a Raclette de Savoie. Take it out an hour ahead so it comes to room temperature, then cut thin 3 mm slices: its semi-cooked paste is firmer than a classic raclette and melts better in thin slivers. In the raclette pan, take it off as soon as the edges bubble, before the fat separates. For a half wheel on an arm-type grill, choose a piece aged four to six months and heat gently, with the cut face quite far from the heating element. Serve with firm potatoes, cured ham and a few walnuts to highlight the hazelnut side. A well-chilled Chasselas from the Chablais completes the scene.

Pairings

• Wines: Crépy or Marin (Chasselas from the Chablais), Chignin-Bergeron, Roussette de Savoie
• On the table: baby potatoes, cured ham, walnuts, sliced pear or apple, rye bread

Our recipes with this cheese

• Traditional Raclette: The Basic Recipe
• Baked Raclette Potato
• Raclette Stuffed Mushrooms

How much should you plan? Our guide to raclette cheese quantities per person does the math, and our comparison of the best raclette cheeses shows how it stacks up against the others.

Abondance AOP producers: the directory

Four families of producers, from the giants to the small mountain dairies. Contact details taken from their official websites, or failing that from the association’s list of producers and the company register; logos are displayed from those sites, with credit.

The biggest producers

The biggest volumes: industrial producers and large cooperatives.

The best known

The brands you come across in stores.

The most renowned

Medal winners, award winners or renowned affineurs, with a sourced distinction.

Small local producers

Farms, mountain pastures and village creameries.

Where to buy it

Abondance AOP is sold at cheese shops, in the fruitières of Haute-Savoie, from the valley's farmhouse producers and in supermarkets at the cut-to-order counter. To recognize the real thing, first look at the concave heel, the cheese's signature. On the wheel, the casein plate shows the origin: oval and green for farmhouse Abondance, square and red for dairy-made Abondance. The AOP logo must appear on the label at the cheese counter. The association's website offers a map of producers and points of sale, handy for stocking up on vacation.

More addresses in our guide where to buy good raclette cheese.

Video: © Fromage Abondance (official SIFA channel): 601st Abondance fair, watch on YouTube

Follow on social media

• Fromage Abondance (official account, linked from fromageabondance.fr) (instagram)

Frequently asked questions

Can you make a raclette with Abondance AOP only?

Yes. It melts well in thin slices and makes a fruitier raclette. Many people still mix it with a Raclette de Savoie for extra creaminess.

What's the difference between farmhouse and dairy-made Abondance?

Farmhouse is made with the milk of a single farm and carries an oval green plate; dairy-made combines the milk of several farms in a fruitière and carries a square red plate.

How long is Abondance AOP aged?

At least 100 days, and the association recommends about four months for the balance between creaminess and aroma.

Read also: all raclette cheeses, the secrets of a perfect raclette and what is raclette?

Sources

• AOP sheet: designation 1990, raw milk, breeds, 10 kg, 40 cm, 100 days, volumes and number of producers: fromagesdesavoie.fr/aop-abondance
• Cheese description, casein plates, production, 6 to 12 kg: fromageabondance.fr/un-fromage
• History tied to Abondance Abbey since the 11th century: fromageabondance.fr
• List of the association's farmhouse producers, dairies and affineurs: fromageabondance.fr/producteurs
• Cheese results of the 2026 Concours Général Agricole (relayed by Le Guide du Fromage): leguidedufromage.com/resultats-concours-general-agricole-fro
• Paccard's Concours Général Agricole results: reblochon-paccard.fr/a-propos/palmares
• Pochat range including Abondance AOP: pochatetfils.fr/nos-fromages-de-savoie
• Abondance AOP specifications (breeds, 6 to 12 kg, 7 to 8 cm, curd heated to 45 to 50 °C, spruce boards, 100 days, casein plates): info.agriculture.gouv.fr (Abondance specifications)
• Designation obtained in 1990: inao.gouv.fr/produit/abondance-17637
• Abondance “AOP since 1996” (Berthoud TSG specifications): info.agriculture.gouv.fr (Berthoud specifications)
• Pochat contact details (legal notice): pochatetfils.fr/mentions-legales; Féternes creamery: pochatetfils.fr/nos-fromageries
• Monts & Terroirs contact details: montsetterroirs.com/mentions-legales-2; Terramont within the group: sodiaal.coop
• Fromagerie Chabert contact details: fruitieres-chabert.com/mentions-legales
• Fruitière des Neiges (JFB & Cie) contact details: fruitiere-des-neiges.com/fr/legal/4-mentions-legales
• Paccard contact details: reblochon-paccard.fr/nous-contacter
• Company SIREN and activity check: recherche-entreprises.api.gouv.fr/search?q=capt%20et%20fils&