You are the aesthetic one. Presentation matters to you, and you have a talent for making ordinary moments look like a party.
Cheese profile
- MildBold
- SoftFirm
- HomebodyExplorer
- SoloFondue crowd
- ClassicWild
The real cheese facts
- Origin
- Jura, fewer than 10 village dairies
- Milk
- Mountain milk from cows fed without silage
- Type
- Semi-hard, cylindrical, about 800 g
- Ripening
- At least 2.5 months on spruce boards
- Best for
- Rosettes for the apéro and the cheese board
Source: cheesesfromswitzerland.com · Last checked 28.10.2026
Taste and texture
Strong and distinctive, with a very fine texture. Scraped thin, it practically melts on the tongue, and that is why nobody cuts it into slices.
How to eat it
You put the loaf on a girolle, a small crank with a blade, and turn. Frilly rosettes come off the top. They look great on an apéro board or next to dessert, and they disappear fast as a snack. Without a girolle a sharp knife and some patience will do, but the rosettes are half the fun.
Did you know?
The name means monk’s head. The monks of Bellelay Abbey are said to have scraped the cheese with a special knife, and according to tradition it even served as currency in the 12th century. The recipe is about 800 years old.
Tête de Moine or Vacherin Mont-d’Or?
Both come from the Jura. Tête de Moine is a semi-hard cheese of about 800 g that you scrape into rosettes. Vacherin Mont-d’Or, from the Vallée de Joux in Vaud, is soft, comes in a spruce box and is eaten with a spoon. Vacherin is also seasonal and only sold from September to April.
More about Vacherin Mont-d’Or AOP →How to keep it
Keep the loaf in the fridge and cover the scraped top so it does not dry out. Many girolles come with a dome for exactly that, otherwise a piece of foil works. Take it out a little before you scrape it.
Questions about Tête de Moine AOP
Why is it called Tête de Moine?
It means monk’s head in French. The cheese goes back to the monks of Bellelay Abbey in the Jura.
Do I need a girolle?
It is the classic tool, because Tête de Moine is scraped, not cut. A very sharp knife works too, the rosettes just won’t be as pretty.