Why a 2,000-year-old low-fat, high-protein cheese is taking over French dairy aisles

Cancoillotte is produced at the Lehmann cheese dairy in Vieux-Charmont, France. There are more than 20 producers of the cheese from the Franche-Comté region. (Christine Biau/SIPA via CNN Newsource)

France is currently experiencing a mini cheese revolution.

And it’s been causing a small ruckus in the refrigerated cheese aisles of major grocery stores.

The cheese in question, cancoillotte, is hardly new. In fact, it’s believed that the soft, gooey cheese that comes packaged in pots, can be traced back 2,000 years in the eastern part of France near the Swiss border.

But in recent years, the cheese-in-a-pot has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts, thanks in large part to a few French influencers who have either discovered or rediscovered the product and introduced it to their fellow compatriots, many of whom had never heard of the cheese before. Because while cancoillotte is common in Franche-Comté where the cheese is produced, it’s little known outside outside the region.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me about this? Because my diet has just changed forever,” says the French influencer known as Johan Papz , in a viral TikTok video that has racked up 2.2 million views since being posted April 23. “It’s the best day of my life.”

Johan, who doesn’t want his legal surname published for privacy reasons, tells CNN that he remembers eating cancoillotte poured over roasted potatoes and meat for hearty, wintry meals while growing up in Lyon. Because of its richness and thick, melty, oozy texture, he just assumed it was a decadent, calorific treat.

But while chatting recently with a bodybuilding friend at the gym about his diet and how much he missed eating cheese, Johan learned that cancoillotte is actually a low-fat, high-protein alternative.

Excited at the prospect of being able to eat cheese again, Johan headed to the grocery store on a reconnaissance mission to see if his friend’s tip was legit.

The moment turned out to be a food epiphany.

“When I looked at the product I was honestly in a state of shock,” Johan tells CNN. “Eight grams of fat for 100 grams is crazy for a cheese. So I then started eating this every day.”

Soft and spreadable, packed with protein

The specs for the average pot of cancoillotte are indeed a stark contrast to traditional French cheeses, which can average between 15 and 30 grams of fat and 200-400 calories per 100 grams. A general rule of thumb to remember: the harder and drier the cheese, the higher it is in fat and calories.

By contrast, 100 grams of cancoillotte clocks in at an average of 130 calories, 8 grams of fat and 16 grams of protein.

The result is a soft, spreadable cheese made from skimmed cow’s milk that can be eaten hot or cold. The flavour and aroma profile ranges from yeasty and fruity, to stronger earthy, “barnyard” aromas.

Johan’s word carries a lot of weight on French TikTok. The 30-year-old’s videos have also helped Paris’ famous croissant-cookie hybrid, the crookie, and the Algerian hazelnut spread, El Mordjene, go viral around the world.

So when he discovered the merits of cancoillotte, Johan wanted to share the good news with his 1.5 million followers and vaunted it as a “cheat code” for a healthy diet. In the video, he pours the soft cheese over roasted potatoes and eats it straight out of the pot by the spoonful.

“I share a lot about my food journey. I work out six times a week and try to recommend healthy options for people who still want to have fun while eating, and control their protein intake and calories,” he says.

In the following weeks, demand for cancoillotte soared. Julie Morin, president of the Association for the Promotion of Cancoillotte, says that demand rose 25 per cent in the month of May alone. Demand at the cheesemaker Fromagerie Poitrey-La Belle Etoile, where she is also the director, likewise rose 10 per cent that same month .

“Sales skyrocketed thanks to this, and we actually ran out of stock,” Morin tells CNN. “We didn’t expect to be so successful on social media.”

Sales take off

Cancoillotte is made from skimmed cow’s milk — a byproduct of butter, cream and cheese — which is then fermented and coagulated and turned into milk curds. The curds are drained and pressed to create metton, hard crumbles which are then ground, aged and heated to 194 degrees Fahrenheit (90 C) with butter, water and salt.

Since the association’s founding in 2013, the soft cheese had been a bit of a tough sell. Morin acknowledges that it can be viewed as ringard: the French word for old-fashioned, outdated and “corny.”

“It’s true that it can be seen as an old product for older people, and not very modern,” she says. “It’s hard to pronounce, even for the French, and there are a lot of misconceptions about the product. Some people think it’s a mix of melted cheeses, others that it’s very fattening.”(Cancoillotte is pronounced kahn-kwye-yotte).

But familiarity with the product has been growing. Over the last seven years, sales have risen 35 per cent, Morin says. The industry got a boost in 2022, when cancoillotte received the Protected Geographical Indication or PGI label. To receive PGI status, products must demonstrate strong links to the region where they are manufactured. The association also received its first inquiry about the possibility of importing the product to the U.S. recently.

And while the latest buzz can be attributed to Johan Papz, the first creator to popularize the cheese was itscindyoff. Since 2020, she has shared 180 videos on TikTok documenting her love for cancoillotte on wrap sandwiches, burgers and pasta, or using it as a dip for chicken nuggets, cucumbers and baguettes.

Cindy’s videos (she also keeps her surname private) have also made cancoillotte converts of some of her nearly 950,000 followers, many of whom thank her regularly for introducing them to the cheese and who have cleaned out the shelves of their local grocery stores over the years.

“I remember when I first started, people sent me photos and videos of them stocking up. Even cashiers would send me messages on Instagram saying that I created a national shortage across France,” Cindy tells CNN.

Morin credits itscindyoff for being one of the industry’s most loyal, unofficial ambassadors for the product, and emphasizes that Johan’s and Cindy’s cancoillotte posts were not sponsored .

“They’ve helped bring in a younger audience. And it wasn’t driven by the association. It just happened naturally and it’s great when buzz happens like that.”

More than 20 different producers

Cindy, who works in the French military, had never heard of cancoillotte until she was stationed in the Franche-Comté region for work. At the time, the Toulouse-area native says she was overweight and consulted a local nutritionist who recommended cancoillotte as a low-calorie substitute for full-fat cheese. France’s public health service Sante.fr also recommends cancoillotte as a healthier, low-fat cheese option.

After taking her first spoonful, she was hooked.

“When I tasted it for the first time, it was so flavourful and delicious. It’s liquid cheese, and you just take your little spoon, dip it in, and this layer of melty cheese rises to the top.”

With 22 producers and 230 local dairy farmers who supply the milk, each brand of cancoillotte has its own distinctive flavour profile, Morin adds. Producers have also been experimenting with flavours like white wine, garlic, onion, nuts, and most recently, pesto and truffle.

“We all have different production methods. There are several recipes and different types of aging. We all have our own specific characteristics. That’s why I often say if you don’t like one pot, try another brand because there’s bound to be one among the 20 producers that you’ll like.”

Valentin Fleytoux, 33, runs La Fromagerie du Charme, a small organic dairy farm near the town of Vesoul, with 30 Montbéliarde cows, a breed of dairy cows specific to the region. He is a relative newcomer to cancoillotte, having started production in 2023 after it obtained the PGI label, and after realizing that it was the smart solution to repurposing the skimmed milk left over from the farm’s production of organic butter. The dairy produces 500, 250-milliliter pots a week and cancoillotte now outsells their butter.

Some of the most popular ways that the Franche-Comté locals, or les Francs-Comtois, like to eat it is warm, poured over roasted potatoes and smoked sausage, or as a savory spread on bread for breakfast. Likewise, no comtois picnic is complete without a pot of cancoillotte, Fleytoux says.

The Francs-Comtois can also be very particular about their cancoillotte habits. The young farmer remembers how his grandfather used to ask his local boulanger specifically for dense bread with few holes, to prevent cheese from leaking out onto his breakfast plate.

“There’s a local saying here,” Fleytoux says.

“We’re born with a spoonful of cancoillotte in our mouths.”

By Vivian Song, CNN