Head cheese the stock as a binder. Head cheese may be flavored with onion, black pepper, allspice, bay leaf, salt, and vinegar. It is usually eaten cold or at room temperature. Historically, meat jellies were made of the cleaned (all organs removed) head of the animal, which was simmered to produce stock, a peasant food made since the Middle Ages. When cooled, the stock congeals because of the natural gelatin found in the skull. The aspic may need additional gelatin, or more often, reduction, to set properly. The term 'head cheese' is used in North America, 'potted heid' in Scotland, 'brawn' elsewhere
Abondance cheese was granted an Appellation d'origine contrôlée or AOC in 1990. The region has been known for its cheese since at least the 14th century when monks from the "Sainte Marie d'Abondance" Monastery are recorded to have supplied cheese to the papal conclave at Avignon. Abondance cheese can be either artisanal or farm-made; it is now made exclusively in the area of Abondance in Chablais, Haute-Savoie. The ageing period for Abondance is a minimum of three months on specially-prepared spruce boards. Abondance cheese Abondance is a semi-hard, fragrant, raw-milk cheese made in the Haute-Savoie department of France. Its name comes from