A whole Vacherin baked in its spruce box is the easiest showstopper in French winter cooking. Vacherin du Haut-Doubs, sold as Mont d'Or on the Swiss side of the border, is a soft washed-rind cow's milk cheese banded in spruce bark and made only in the cold months. You lift the rind off the top, press in chopped garlic, pour over white wine, put the rind back and bake. Twenty-five minutes later the top is golden and the inside is a hot, spoonable dip. Hands-on time is under ten minutes.
At a glance
- Difficulty: Easy
- Serves: 4
- Active time: About 10 minutes
- Cook: 25 minutes at 220°C (425°F)
- Key ingredient: One 500 g Vacherin du Haut-Doubs PDO, in its wooden box
Why this works
Vacherin is built to be melted. The paste carries a lot of moisture and is already soft at cellar temperature, so heat loosens it instead of breaking it the way heat breaks a firm mountain cheese. The spruce band around the wheel does two jobs at once. It holds the cheese together as it liquefies, and the warm wood gives off a faint resinous note that seasons the paste from the outside in. Baking the cheese in its own box is not rustic theatre, it is the only container that fits.
The garlic and the wine work on texture as much as on flavour. A small pour of dry white wine loosens the paste so it runs off the spoon rather than sitting in a lump, and the acidity keeps 500 g of melted cheese from tasting heavy. Chop the garlic fine rather than slicing it, so it disperses through the paste instead of collecting in one sharp pocket. Putting the rind back before baking is the step people skip, and it is the one that matters most: the rind works as a lid, browning on top while the cheese under it stays creamy instead of drying into a skin.
Ingredients
Three things go into the cheese. The cheese does the rest.
| Ingredient | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Vacherin du Haut-Doubs PDO, whole, in its box | 1 x 500 g | 1 x about 1 lb 2 oz |
| Garlic | 1 clove | 1 clove |
| Dry white wine | 5 cl | About 3 1/2 tbsp |
| Pepper | To taste | To taste |
Method
Step 1: Fill it, cap it, bake it
Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Take the lid off the box and slide it underneath as a base. Cut the rind off the top of the cheese with a knife and set it aside in one piece. Peel and finely chop the garlic, then press it into the paste. Pour in the white wine and season with pepper. Lay the rind back over the top and bake the Vacherin in its box for 25 minutes. It is done when the rind is golden brown and the cheese underneath is runny.
Step 2: Or take one of the two variations
Maison Bordier gives two. For a richer version, tuck five slices of pancetta into the cheese before it goes in the oven. For a fuller, sweeter one, leave out the garlic and wine and use 5 cl (about 3 1/2 tbsp) of whisky instead, then add two tablespoons of maple syrup and a scatter of chopped walnuts.
Tips from our kitchen
- Wrap the box in foil before it goes in. A single layer around the sides keeps the wood from scorching at 220°C and, more usefully, catches anything that seeps through a split seam. Leave the top open so the rind can brown.
- Put the whole thing on a sheet pan. If the box does fail, you lose the cheese to the oven floor. A rimmed pan costs nothing and saves the evening.
- Buy the cheese ripe and use it that day. A Vacherin ready for the oven feels slack when you press the top, and the paste should already be pushing gently against the band. A firm, tight wheel will melt unevenly and taste chalky at the centre.
- Stop at 25 minutes. Past that point the fat begins to separate and pools on the surface as a greasy slick that will not stir back in. If the rind is not yet coloured but the cheese is loose, finish it under the broiler for a minute rather than leaving it in longer.
- Use a wine you would pour into a glass. A dry, high-acid white works best: Savoie, Jura, Chablis, a crisp Alsace Riesling. Sweet or oaky wine turns cloying against this much fat.
- Serve it in the box, on the table. The cheese sets fast once it leaves the oven. A trivet and a spoon in the middle of the table keeps it moving.
How to serve it
The classic table is boiled new potatoes, cornichons, a plate of cured ham, and more bread than you think you need. Everyone dips straight from the box. A green salad with a sharp mustard vinaigrette cuts through it, and a cold dry white or a light red keeps the meal from turning heavy. Good bread deserves good butter beside it, which is why we keep a block on the table even when the main event is cheese: see our French churned butter collection for what to put next to the loaf.
Where to buy Bordier butter in the US
The French Pantry ships Bordier butter across the United States in insulated overnight packaging, straight from the workshop in Brittany.
This one is a Maison Bordier cheese recipe rather than a butter recipe, and the matured Vacherin from their cheese cellars is not something we carry. What we do carry is the butter churned in the same workshop, and a baked Vacherin asks for good bread and good butter alongside it.
- Churned Salted Butter by Bordier (4.4 oz): semi-salted at 2.8% fine salt, with caramel and hazelnut notes in summer, and the right block to put on the table next to a melted cheese.
For the flavoured butters, including seaweed, Roscoff onion and Périgord black truffle, browse the Maison Bordier collection.
Frequently asked questions
How much Bordier butter should I buy to go with this?
Bordier blocks are 4.4 oz (125 g). For four people working through a baguette alongside the cheese, one block is enough. Buy two if your table likes butter spread thickly, or if you want some left for breakfast.
Is Mont d'Or the same thing as Vacherin du Haut-Doubs?
Close enough to swap. Vacherin du Haut-Doubs is the French PDO name and Vacherin Mont d'Or is the Swiss one, made just across the border. Both are spruce-banded, both are seasonal, and both bake the same way. If you cannot find either, a whole ripe Camembert in a wooden box will bake, but it holds less moisture and firms up faster once it leaves the oven.
Can I substitute the Bordier butter for something else?
You can use any good European-style butter on the bread, but the difference is real. Bordier is churned by hand on a wooden malaxeur in Brittany, which leaves more texture and a fuller flavour than a butter extruded on a modern line. If you want a milder block, the unsalted version of the same butter is the one to reach for.
How should I store Bordier butter?
Keep it wrapped in its paper in the coldest part of the fridge and it will hold its texture for weeks. Take out only what you need and let it sit at room temperature for twenty minutes before spreading. Bordier butter freezes well too, wrapped tightly, if you want to keep a block in reserve.
Does Bordier butter need refrigeration?
Yes. Bordier butter is a fresh, hand-churned product and ships cold in insulated packaging. Move it to the fridge as soon as it arrives.
Can I bake this without the wooden box?
You can, in a small ovenproof dish just wide enough to hold the cheese, but you lose the resin note the spruce contributes and the paste tends to spread thin. If your cheese came without a box, choose a dish that fits it snugly rather than a wide one.
Related reading
- Bordier Butter: What It Is, Why Chefs Love It, and How to Use It
- How to Choose Your French Butter: A Buyer's Guide
- Paysan Breton: The Breton Butter Guide
Recipe and photograph adapted from Maison Bordier, with thanks. The French Pantry is an authorized US retailer of Bordier butter.