In which country was the soft cheese reblochon first produced?

Reblochon is a soft washed-rind and smear-ripened French cheese made in the Alpine region of Savoie from raw cow's milk.

Reblochon was first produced in the Thônes and Arly valleys, in the Aravis massif, eastern France. Thônes remains the centre of Reblochon production; the cheeses are still made in the local cooperatives.

Reblochon derives from the word "reblocher" which when literally translated means "to pinch a cow's udder again". This refers to the practice of holding back some of the milk from the first milking. During the 14th century, the landowners would tax the mountain farmers according to the amount of milk their herds produced. The farmers would therefore not fully milk the cows until after the landowner had measured the yield. The milk that remains is much richer, and was traditionally used by the dairymaids to make their own cheese.

In the 16th century the cheese also became known as "fromage de dévotion" ("devotional cheese") because it was offered to the Carthusian monks of the Thônes Valley by the farmers, in return for having their homesteads blessed.

Reblochon has not been available in the United States since 2004, as it is unpasteurised and has not been sufficiently aged to pass U.S. import laws concerning the pasteurization of soft and semi-soft cheese.