Thanks Neil, great read.  Cheers.

“pronounced con-tay”

Actually it is more like:

cone-tay

where “cone” sounds like “bone”

It is truly a delicious cheese.  I have tried it at varying ages from 6 months up, and I prefer 20-24 months over the younger cheeses.

Have to go look for it and try it. I thingk I may even have a video on it, it sounds so familiar.

Another bit of info from things I’ve read:

Comte is an alpine cheese, like gruyere, and it is aged in a cool environment.  Since this is the case, any Proprionic Shermanii in the cheese, which requires warmer temps to be fully active, does not have much of an impact.  This is why the holes in comte are quite small and extremely rare.  It is quite possible to have a slice of comte with no visible holes.  AOC regulations for comte state that:

The milk may be heated once to a maximum of 104 F, at the time of renneting.  The salt brine is applied to the cheese.
The cheese that is used is raw.

One other note:

Aging take place below 66 F with a minimum humidity of 92%.  The cheeses are wiped with brine during aging and also treated with morge, which is a combination of saltwater and ground, brown rinds of older cheeses.  B. Linens bacteria may naturally grow on the rind to a small extent, but it is not added.