The Salers is a French cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....

 from the volcanic region in the mountains of Auvergne

Auvergne (région)

Auvergne is one of the 27 administrative regions of France. It comprises the 4 departments of Allier, Puy de Dome, Cantal and Haute Loire.The current administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and includes provinces and areas that historically were not...

, central France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. It is a pressed, uncooked cheese made from Salers

Salers (cattle)

thumb|250px|right|Salers cattleThe Salers is a breed of cattle which originated in Cantal in the Massif Central of France.They are a large breed of cattle, with the female weighing in at between 700 and 750 kg and standing 1.40 metres tall. They have a thick mahogany red or black coat, and...

 cow's milk between the 15 April and 15 November. It is similar to Cantal cheese - which is produced from the same cows' milk when they are fed on hay

Hay

Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...

 during the remaining months of the year - and has been estimated to have been fabricated in this region for at least 2000 years. It came to prominence when Maréchal de Senneterre

Henri de La Ferté-Senneterre

Henri II de La Ferté-Senneterre was a marshal of France and governor of Lorraine.- Life :The son of Henri I de La Ferté-Senneterre, a minister from an old knightly family in the Auvergne, Henri II was destined for a military career and fought for the first time under Maurice of Nassau, leader of...

 served it at the table of Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...

. Maréchal de Senneterre is also responsible for the introduction of Saint-Nectaire

Saint-Nectaire

Saint-Nectaire is a French cheese made in the Auvergne region of central France. The cheese has been made in Auvergne since at least the 17th century. Its name comes from the Marshal of Senneterre , who served it at the table of Louis XIV...

 and Cantal

Cantal (cheese)

Cantal cheese is a firm cheese from the Cantal region of France. It is named after the Cantal mountains in the Auvergne region.One of the oldest cheeses in France, Cantal dates back to the times of the Gauls. It came to prominence when marshal Henri de La Ferté-Senneterre served it at the table of...

. Salers has benefited from the Appellation d'origine contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

since 1961. It is best eaten between September and March, after an ageing time of nine months, but it is also excellent all year round.

It is circular in shape, weighing around 40 kg.

1,112 tonnes were produced in 1998 (+15.1% since 1996). All was made in local farms from unpasteurized milk by about one hundred producers.