Laguiole

Laguiole is a pressed, uncooked cow's milk cheese produced on the Aubrac plateau across parts of Aveyron, Cantal, and Lozère. Made exclusively from raw whole milk of Simmental française and Aubrac breed cows, it takes a cylindrical form and carries a minimum fat content of 45 grams per 100 grams of cheese after total desiccation and a minimum dry matter content of 58 grams per 100 grams.

About this designation

Registered as a PDO under file number PDO-FR-0120, Laguiole received EU protection on 21 June 1996 and is recorded in eAmbrosia under identifier EUGI00000012903. The specification restricts milk supply to cows of the Simmental française and Aubrac breeds, which must feed principally by grazing or on hay from the geographical area, without wet-preserved fodder and with a limited amount of complementary feed; the use of maize in fodder is prohibited. The cheese is made from raw whole milk only. It must have a minimum fat content of 45 grams per 100 grams of cheese after total desiccation and a total dry matter content of not less than 58 grams per 100 grams. The cylinder measures 30 to 40 centimetres in diameter. Ripening takes place in a cold cellar maintained at 6 to 12 °C for a minimum of four months, during which the cheese is regularly rubbed and turned. The production method involves a double draining process, first in a tomme press and then after moulding. The geographical area spans named municipalities in the departments of Aveyron, Cantal, and Lozère. Labelling must include the designation name in characters at least two-thirds the size of the largest characters on the label and the European Union PDO logo. The cheese may additionally bear an embossed stamp comprising the Laguiole bull and the word 'Laguiole'. The word 'buron' may appear on labelling only for cheeses made from milk of a single herd milked during transhumance, between 25 May and 13 October, grazing above 1 000 metres altitude. The applicant group is the Syndicat de défense et de gestion du Fromage de Laguiole, based in Laguiole, Aveyron.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 21 June 1996 under file number PDO-FR-0120; eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012903.
• The specification permits only Simmental française and Aubrac breed cows, and prohibits the use of maize in their fodder.
• The word 'buron' may appear on labelling only for cheeses made from a single herd milked during transhumance between 25 May and 13 October at altitudes above 1 000 metres.
• Ripening occurs in a cellar held at 6 to 12 °C for a minimum of four months, with mandatory rubbing and turning throughout.

Tasting notes

Aubrac cow's milk pressed uncooked cheese (related to Cantal and Salers), aged minimum 4 months, often 6-18+. Tall cylindrical shape, pale ivory to amber paste, firm crumbly texture, robust tangy-savory flavor with green-grass notes evolving to nutty-piquant when aged — the Aubrac cheese.

HoReCa use

Laguiole is traditionally used in aligot de l'Aubrac, in which fresh tomme is melted with mashed potato, garlic, and butter to produce an elastic, stretchy preparation.

Packaging

• wheel-full-25-50kg
• wheel-quarter-vacuum-6-12kg
• wedge-vacuum-500g
• wedge-vacuum-250g
• tomme-fraîche-aligot-1kg