The 8 Best Reblochon Cheese Substitutes

If you have had Tartiflette from France’s beautiful Alps Mountain range, you would know how tasty Reblochon cheese is. This cheese is a great ingredient with an interesting flavor that can be hard to replace in dishes.

However, if you find yourself short of this cheese, you can check out my list to find a good Reblochon cheese substitute for your dish.

What Does Reblochon Cheese Taste Like? 

Reblochon cheese is made from unpasteurized cow milk from the Haute-Savoie and Savoie in France. It is a pressed and semi-hard cheese with a yellow or orange rind wrapping in an ivory center.

This fantastic cheese has existed since the 13th Century with such an enchanting origin which is told through its name “Reblochon”.

Reblochon comes from the word “re-blocher,” meaning re-milk the cow a second time. It was an act of avoiding paying tax on the quantity of raw milk the farmers produce in a day.

Nowadays, Reblochon cheese in the USA is not a tax relief product but tasty food for many cheese dishes.

The edible and velvety rind with cheese’s smooth and supple texture is combined with a nutty fragrance like Chèvre cheese. Inside, Reblochon flavor is fruity, nutty with a scent of the cellar where it is produced and matured.

In the market, you can find Reblochon available in two types: green and red seals. The red is standard with a mild flavor, while the green one has a stronger taste due to the longer maturity process.

As a result, people tend to use the green ones as table cheese to enjoy their intense, nutty taste. 

With a milder flavor, red label Reblochon is commonly used for cooking to create texture and aroma.

You can use it as melting cheese in baked potatoes, green salad, cheese sandwich, or in the Tartiflette from the Alps. 

What Is The Best Reblochon Cheese Substitute?

Reblochon cheese is often known as the cheese of winter dishes. When having the melting cheese inside, you will have a lukewarm taste and creamy texture that elevates your recipes. 

As it is not a common cheese in a cheese shop, you might not be able to find them for your meal.

So, what cheese is Reblochon cheese similar to? Here are eight reblochon cheese substitutes that you can use instead:

1. Gruyere cheese 

A wonderful Reblochon cheese substitute on my list is Gruyère cheese.

This is a Switzerland cheese with many similar features to Reblochon in flavor and texture that people can even mistake with this French cheese.

Gruyere is a hard cheese with yellow color inside. When it is premature, the Reblochon style cheese has a creamy and nutty taste.

As it gets older from a few months to a year, the cheese becomes earthy and assertive with complex flavor notes.

Therefore, it is best to use young Gruyere cheese for Reblochon recipes. You can find this amazing cheese in many popular dishes like French soups, cheese sandwiches, and Corden bleu.

2. Fontina cheese

Fontina is a cheese from Italy that can replicate the nutty flavor of Reblochon cheese. It is a semi-soft, pressed rind cheese with interesting characteristics.

People tend to allow this Italian cheese to mature longer for its unique pungent, fragrant, dark brown color and strange shape.

Its flavor is also more complex, with different notes of earthiness. However, its young forms are also sold in the market with significantly similar tastes to Reblochon cheese. 

This orange-brown rind cheese has a buttery yellow color with a rich and creamy texture.

The flavor of Fontina also has strong nutty and fruity notes that you can substitute for Reblochon in soups and sandwiches.

3. Port Salut Cheese

Another great substitute for Reblochon cheese is Port Salut cheese. Unlike the two above, Port Salut is a skim milk cheese from Port Du Salut, France.

This semi-soft cheese was first made in a monastery in the 1800s. Until 1950, the sale of this disk-shaped cheese increased and became popular. 

Although there are many modifications to the original fruity taste and texture, the modern Port Salut cheese is quite similar to Reblochon cheese.

From the outside, the Port Salut cheese substitute has a noticeable orange rind with an intense aroma. 

However, the ivory body inside has a smooth, velvety texture. The flavor of Port Salut can be described as mild, slightly fruity, and sweet, which is a good substitution for Reblochon cheese for table cheese.

You can also combine certain wines like Bourgueil and Chinon to increase the flavor.

4. Taleggio Cheese

Taleggio cheese has a great resemblance to Reblochon cheese because of its fruity notes. Originated in the Alpine valley of Val Taleggio, this semi-soft cheese has a strong smell with an ivory body.

As it matures, the Italian cheese texture becomes soft and buttery with increasing tanginess.

The flavor of Taleggio, when it is ripe, is a combination of creamy, fruity and mellow, which is perfect to be a melting cheese in Reblochon cheese recipes.

You can use Taleggio on a cheese platter, polenta, pasta, risotto, and pizza. Its fruity flavor also goes great with dessert wines, Sangiovese, and sparkling shiraz. 

5. Raclette Cheese

Raclette cheese is another Swiss cheese that makes it to this Reblochon substitute list. This cow’s milk cheese was made in a mountainous area between France and Switzerland, making it a great combination of Swiss and French cheese.

Raclette is a semi-hard cheese that was produced in 1291. The long history has curved this cheese into a strong fragrance type of cheese.

Despite its so-called stinky scent, Raclette is quite creamy with sweet, salty, and nutty notes that you love in Reblochon cheese. 

Because of its creamy consistency, people tend to melt Raclette on sandwiches, pasta, and pizza. It is also a common ingredient in the famous cheese fondue.

6. Muenster Cheese

Muenster cheese is a great French cheese that you can use to substitute Reblochon cheese in soups. Made in the 1800s by the French Immigrants in Wisconsin, the Muenster cheese was a replica of the French Munster.

However, the result is a semi-soft cheese with a noticeable red-orange rind that has similar characteristics to Reblochon cheese.

As it is washed rind cheese, the smell is quite strong compared to other cheeses. The flavor of Muenster has a certain tanginess and saltiness with an amazingly creamy and soft texture that you can use for many grilled cheese recipes.

You can also add it inside sandwiches and burgers for a cheesy moment.

7. Brie cheese

Brie cheese is another possible Reblochon cheese alternative with its versatile flavor. This unpasteurized cow cheese has a white rind with a smooth texture outside.

On the inside, you can find a fluffy and creamy consistency with a combination of complex flavors. It has a taste of rich, earthy, salty, fruity with some nutty notes you love in Reblochon cheese.

For keeping Brie’s creamy texture, it is recommended to serve it at room temperature on bread, wafers, or as a table cheese with pears, grapes, and wines.

8. Camembert cheese

Lastly, you might find a resemblance of Reblochon cheese in this famous French cheese called Camembert. It is a great cheese that can be made of cow or goat milk.

With its ripe version, Camembert becomes soft and creamy, which is similar to Brie cheese.

The taste of this soft cheese can be described as mild, rich, earthy, and salty, which you can use on a wide range of dishes like fruits, bread, sandwiches, and nuts.

Conclusion

Reblochon cheese is a great cheese type for the Tartiflette and winter dishes. With its melting texture and delicate flavor, you can make many lukewarm meals out of it.

As it is not a common cheese type, you can always use a Reblochon cheese substitute in this list to work on your recipes without any delay or trouble.