Showing posts with label Soft Cheese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soft Cheese. Show all posts

2015/11/27

Bijou

Bijou is an exquisite, little, soft-ripened, pasteurised goat-milk cheese produced by Vermont Creamery located in Websterville, Vermont.

Bijou, which means "Jewel" in French, is quite the fitting name for this tiny little cheese that embodies all that is unique in the making and caring of a small 'crottin type' goat-milk cheese.

 Bijou goat cheese

Bijou is made with fresh pasteurised goat-milk which is supplied to Vermont Creamery by 20 family goat farms. The curd coagulates overnight, drains in cheese-cloths and then shaped into little cylinder buttons. Bijou is then dried and matured for 1 week before being packaged for retail. Each container which is designed to promote ripening contains 2 Bijou cheese crottins. Each Bijou weighs 2 oz.(57 grams) and measures approx. 1 1/2 inch (4 cm) in diameter and 1 1/4 inch (3.5 cm) in height. Bijou like 'crottin type' cheeses evolves with time, gaining in sharpness and complexity as it reaches an ideal maturity at 30 days.

Bijou 2 pack aged goat cheese crottin

Bijou is an award winning chèvre for Vermont Creamery. It has received the 1st Place position in the category of American made International style goat cheese at both the 2014 and the 2015 American Cheese Society competitions. Bijou also received the Gold medal at the 2014 World Cheese Awards.

Bijou has a lovely wrinkly, cream coloured, geotrichum-rind and a milk-white soft paste that is denser in the middle and creamier on the outside. Bijou has a wonderful sweet and yeasty taste & aroma due to the geo-rind. It has a smooth, rich and creamy texture with a robust tangy flavour with hints of hazelnuts.

Bijou goat cheese

Bijou is quite a versatile cheese it can be served as a creamy spreadable goat when young, toasted on a baguette with a salad for a traditional French chèvre-chaud or it can stand on its own on any cheese platter. Bijou pairs nicely with complex aromatic white wines such as an Alsace Gewürztraminer or try it with a Belgium Tripel beer with complex aromas and flavours.


Vermont Creamery has been making cream, fine butter, fresh and aged cheeses for over 30 years. Their fine products have won them over 100 various national and international awards. Read my review on one of their other award winning goat cheese Bonne Bouche.

Goats from Ayers Brook Goat Farm in Randolph, Vermont

Vermont Creamery has invested in the future of goat farming by creating a sustainable goat dairy in Randolph Vermont. Ayers Brook Goat Farm is being set up as a teaching venue for future farmers and current farmers across the United States, a place where they can come and learn good animal management and to help encourage the growth of the goat dairy industry in Vermont.  

2015/09/08

Le Crottin de Fanny

Le Crottin de Fanny is a lovely artisanal goat-milk cheese from La Chèvrerie de Charlevoix located in St. Agnes, Quebec in the beautiful hills of the Charlevoix region.

Le Crottin de Fanny


Le Crottin de Fanny is a bloomy rind, goat-milk cheese based on the recipe of the classic Crottin de Chavignol but adapted to please the taste of Quebecers. This small cylindrical cheese has a soft, compact ivory-white colour paste and weighs around 125 grams when it is young (with an affinage of 14 days).

Le Crottin de Fanny has a subtle slightly nutty taste. As the cheese matures (21 days+) it develops a firmer paste, the rind begins to show some mold developing and the cheese begins to come into its own with a much more complex flavour.  Le Crottin de Fanny pairs nicely with a dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc.

Le Crottin de Fanny is produced with the milk of alpine and saanen goats that are raised in freedom, outdoors on the artisanal farm owned and operated by Didier Luberriaga and Stephanie Corret. Although they have been running this artisanal goat farm for four years, their cheese factory La Chèvrerie de Charlevoix was built last year and the production of cheese was launched this spring.

Goat at Chèvrerie de Charlevoix

La Chèvrerie de Charlevoix also produces a wonderful semi-firm artisanal goat cheese La Tomme St-Agnes and a goat-milk ricotta on request. They are currently working on also producing their own goat-milk dulce de leche.

2015/02/12

Bonne Bouche

Bonne Bouche is an outstanding goat milk cheese that is perfectly named as it translates to 'tasty mouthful' in French.

Bonne Bouche, winner of many awards since its introduction in 2001, is a soft, fresh-ripened, ash covered, pasteurized goat-milk cheese from Vermont Creamery located in Websterville, Vermont.

Vermont Creamery goat

Bonne Bouche is made with fresh pasteurized goat-milk that is coagulated with vegetarian microbial rennet. After 24 hours, then the curd is carefully hand ladled into molds, then drained and lightly sprinkled with ash. The cheese is then aged for about 10 days, long enough for the rind to start to develop its wrinkly, brain-like creases which is 'Geotrichum', a mold used to neutralize or de-acidify the cheese surface. Each Bonne Bouche is then carefully packaged into its own individual little wooden crate where it can continue to age for 1 to 2 months.

Geotrichum rind of Bonne Bouche

Bonne Bouche is a small disc shaped wheel approximately 7 cm (2.5 in.) in diameter and 2 cm (3/4 in.) in height, weighing around 120 grams (4 oz.). What is striking about Bonne Bouche at first glance is its distinctive soft charcoal-grey wrinkled rind. It has a mild pungent aroma with hints of hay and wet caves. The rich and creamy white coloured paste has a sweet lemony mild flavour with hints of mushrooms and pepper. Bonne Bouche is characteristic of a true chèvre; it becomes softer and more piquant as it ages.

Bonne Bouche goat-milk cheese from Vermont Creamery

Bonne Bouche pairs nicely with dark chocolate and a dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio or a California Riesling.

Vermont Creamery (formerly known as Vermont Butter and Cheese Company) was created in 1984 by Allison Hooper and Bob Reese. Today with a staff of more than 40, the creamery produces a variety of fresh and aged dairy products. For the Creamery's goat-milk products, goats' milk is sourced from a network of approximately 20 family goat farms who provide milk that have met the highest standards of purity.  Vermont Creamery produces fresh goat cheese, goat milk feta, fresh Crottin as well as other lovely chèvres like Bonne Bouche; Coupole, Bijou and the mixed-milk Cremont.

Vermont Creamery products

For Vermont Creamery’s cows-milk products; crème fraîche, cultured butter, mascarpone, and quark the cows-milk is sourced from Vermont’s St. Albans Cooperative Creamery.

2014/08/12

Brebirousse d’Argental

Brebirousse d’Argental is a soft-ripened, bloomy rind, pasteurised sheep's milk cheese made in the Rhône-Alpes region of France.

Brebirousse d’Argental

Brebirousse d’Argental is an eye-catching cheese, it has a bright orange bloomy rind, which has been tinged with annatto (roucou). The creamy buttery ivory-coloured paste is rich and sweet. Brebirousse is aged one month, but as the cheese matures, nutty, earthy flavours develop into a stronger more complex flavoured cheese.

Brebirousse is available in two different square shaped sizes; a small 125 g and the larger 1 kg format that you will find at your favourite cheese shop.

Brebirousse d’Argental pairs nicely with a Sauvignon Blanc or a more delicate light bodied Pinot Noir.

Brebirousse d’Argental is made exclusively for Fromi Group by Fromagerie Guilloteau which is located south of Lyon along the Loire River in the small town of Pélussin, La Fromagerie Guilloteau also produce Chèvre d’Argental another eye-catching hexagonal shaped goat-milk cheese and the popular Le Fromager d’Affiinois an excellent double-cream cheese.


2014/05/22

Crottin de Chavignol

Crottin de Chavignol (also known as simply Chavignol) is a very popular soft-ripened, raw goat-milk cheese produced in France's Loire Valley. Crottin de Chavignol received its name from the French commune Chavignol, where the cheese was first produced in the 16th century. Crottin de Chavignol received its AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlée) designation in 1976.

Crottin de Chavignol

Crottin de Chavignol is a very small goat-milk cheese that can be enjoyed at various stages of maturity. When it is young, 2-4 weeks old, it measures about 2.5 cm (1 inch) in height and 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter and weights 115 grams (4 oz). At this young stage of life, it has an ivory-coloured rind with a distinctive crinkly surface due to natural yeast and geotrichum bacteria. The white cream coloured, uncooked, unpressed paste is compact yet soft, with a lovely creamy, nutty taste. 

Crottin de Chavignol is an ideal cheese as it can be enjoyed during its various stages of maturity; from a couple of weeks to 4 or more months producing a range of very different flavors. As the cheese ripens, the paste becomes crumbly, then turns dryer and more brittle and as the rind becomes dryer and rougher it also changes in colour from golden to a bluish gray colour, it also shrinks down in size to 40 grams (1.5 oz). As Chavignol matures, it turns into a much richer cheese, with a more pronounced flavour that is more robust, but never sours.

Alpine Goat
Crottin de Chavignol cheese is produced with the raw milk of the Alpine goat.

Crottin de Chavignol is a nice addition to any cheese platter but it is perfect when warmed or grilled and served over a salad. Crottin de Chavignol pairs beautifully with a white wine from the Vallée de la Loire such as a Sancerre or a sparkling Chenin Blanc or a Pouilly Fumé.



Alpine Goat Photo Source: www.wikipedia.org

2014/01/22

Petit Pavé Le Mellois

Petit Pavé Le Mellois is a delightful, small, soft, handmade goat-milk cheese from Poitou-Charentes, an area of France known for its butter and goat cheeses.

Petit Pavé Le Mellois

Petit Pavé Le Mellois is shaped into a small 5 cm (2") square, hence the name Pavé which represents a small paving stone. Le Petit Pavé weights 110 g (3.8 oz) and is made of raw goat milk. Le Petit Pavé has a fresh aroma of goat milk with accompanied notes of hay. The ivory coloured outside rind is dotted with small blue spots and the bright white paste is smooth and lusciously soft.

Le Petit Pavé can be appreciated at various stages of ripeness; when it is young, soft and fresh, when it is half dry and starts to develop slightly acidic notes and when it has ripened into a dryer, nuttier, more complex, sharper bite.

Le Petit Pavé is produced by Hélène Servant at Fromagerie Des Gors located in Melle, a commune in the department of Deux-Sèvres. The craftsmanship of the Fromagerie which has been established since the 1980’s is firmly anchored in the tradition of the region. Fromagerie des Gors uses the milk from goats that are grazing in Exoudun and in Sepvretin in Deux-Sèvres. 


As well as producing this Petit Pavé the Fromagerie des Gors produce other chèvres such as; the Chabichou du Poitou AOC/AOP, BriquetteMothais sur Feuille and they also produce an organic Mothais sur Feuille.

Petit Pavé Le Mellois pairs wonderfully with a French white wine such as Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé or a red Haut-Poitou Gamay.

Hélène Servant at Fromagerie Des Gors making Chabichou du Poitou

In some regions of France you have wine routes, Poitou-Charentes have a 'Route du Chabichou et des fromages de chèvre'; a 200 km route intended to discover the land of goat cheeses and their history with stops at dairies, cheesemakers, ranchers and farmers. Visit: Route du Chabichou

Route du Chabichou
Photo source:
http://routeduchabichou.fr/les-haltes-de-la-route/les-artisans-fromagers/article/fromagerie-des-gors

2014/01/09

Le Lingot

Le Lingot is a delicious raw goat-milk cheese from a small dairy Co-operative Les Gariottes in Alvignac in the former province of Quercy, in the French Midi-Pyrénées.


Le Lingot

Le Lingot has a distinctive bar-shape similar to a gold ingot, weighing 200 g (7 oz.). Le Lingot becomes increasingly creamy as it ages and its flavours become more intense.


Le Lingot soft creamy goat-milk cheese

Le Lingot has a lovely golden speckled, damp, wrinkly, natural rind with a smooth creamy white paste. Lingot is a flavourful cheese; it has the familiar tanginess of goat cheese with a nutty, piquant flavour, slightly earthy and a pleasant, salty tingle on the tongue to finish.

Le Lingot pairs nicely with more fruity red wines like a Burgundy or a Cote de Beaune.

Le Lingot is a beautiful chèvre that is handmade with the highest quality goat-milk, with no additives or preservatives.

2014/01/03

Pérail

Pérail is a lovely soft ripened pasteurised sheep-milk cheese from Aveyron in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. The name Pérail is taken from a Languedoc term 'Peral' meaning fromage frais (fresh cheese).

Pérail pure sheep milk cheese

Pérail is a small 100 g (3.5 oz) circular flat disc measuring approximately 10 cm (4") in diameter.

Pérail has an ivory coloured wrinkly rind composed mainly of geotrichum candidum. The creamy white coloured paste is tender and soft.

This sheep milk cheese is rich and creamy with a pleasant aromatic flavour that is well balanced with its mild earthy undertones. Pérail pairs nicely with a Chardonnay or a French Chablis.

Pérail Papillon

This Pérail Papillon is produced at the Fromagerie du Lévezou in Villefranche-de-Panat in Aveyron.
Pérail cheese which is made by the lactic fermentation method is only made during a certain time of the year. During the winter, when the sheep herds cannot produce sufficient quantities of milk for the dairies to process to make Roquefort blue cheese, these wonderful pure sheep-milk Pérail are made.

Lacaune breed of sheep

The Lacaune which produce the milk for the famous Roquefort cheese are the most numerous sheep breed in France. Lacaune ewes produce milk with higher total solids than the East Friesians, but in slightly less volume.

2013/11/29

Harbison

Harbison is a beautiful soft paste, bloomy rind, bark-wrapped cheese from Jasper Hill Farm located in Greensboro in Northeast Vermont.

Harbison cheese by Jasper Hill Farm

Harbison is a small cheese wheel measuring approximately 10 cm (4") in diameter, 3 cm (1.25") in height and 340 g (12 oz.) in weight. This lovely little gem is held together with a band of spruce bark that is collected in the woodlands on the farms property.

Jasper Hill Farm is operated by brothers Mateo and Andy Kehler who also operate Cellars at Jasper Hill. Cellars’ is a state of the art network of underground vaults, calibrated with distinct temperature and humidity levels accommodating various cheese styles. Cellars at Jasper Hill was designed to help neighbouring farms to compete as artisanal cheese makers and succeed in today’s marketplace. 

Harbison cheese is made with pasteurised cow milk from Ayrshire cows. Ayrshire milk is perfectly suited for cheesemaking. The high fat and protein content and the way in which they breakdown, is perfect in the development of an excellent cheese.

Ayrshire cows at Jasper Hill Farm

This delicate cheese has a slight woodsy mushroom aroma with a lovely fresh, herbaceous, sweet creamy taste. When this cheese is ripe, the soft oozing paste is perfect to be spooned out onto a baguette. Or eat it like a fondue, simply leave the whole cheese in the bark and cut back the top rind and scoop out the cheese. Harbison cheese is very similar to the much sought-after seasonal French Vacherin Mont d'Or and Switzerland's Mont d'Or.

Jasper Hill Farm also produce Bayley Hazen Blue, Alpha Tolman a burly Alpine-style cheese, Moses Sleeper, Willoughby and the American Cheese Society’s 2013 Best of Show winner Winnimere, which is a raw milk, larger version of Harbison.

Harbison pairs nicely with a well-balanced, full-bodied, white Gewürztraminer.

Check out this informative video on the making of Harbison cheese.



2013/10/31

P'tit Sainte Maure

The Fromagerie Poitou Chèvre  who produce the P'tit Sainte Maure is located in the small sixth century village of Mothe Saint Héray, situated along the Sèvre River in the heart of southern Poitou, in the west of France.

La Laiterie Coopérative de la Mothe

In 1897 the local farmers of the area got together to create a cooperative dairy they called La Laiterie Coopérative de la Mothe. During the twentieth century, the dairy specialized in cheese production, especially in the production of goat cheese.
In 1996, the Fromagerie Poitou Chèvre took over the management of the dairy and focused on the traditional manufacturing of goat cheese like the Chabichou du Poitou and Mothais sur Feuille.

Goats from Poitou

The P'tit Sainte Maure is one of the newest additions of cheese produced at the Fromagerie Poitou Chèvre. It is a small version of the classic goat cheese Sainte Maure. It is a 170 g (6 ounce) log-shaped pasteurised goat milk cheese.

P'tit Sainte Maure

P'tit Sainte Maure is made with either an ash covered mouldy rind or a cream coloured bloomy ripened rind with a lovely soft white paste. The P'tit Sainte Maure cheese has a buttery and smooth texture with a nutty and slight tart flavour emerging from the edible rind.

The P'tit Sainte Maure pairs nicely with many white wines such as a Sauvignon Blanc or a Sancerre.

2013/06/03

Le Chevrot

Le Chevrot is an exquisite goat-milk cheese made in France's Vallée de La Loire.
Le Chevrot

Le Chevrot is produced by Sèvre et Belle, a small co-op created and run by people in the village of Celles-sur-Belle in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France. Through the 100 years Sèvre et Belle have been making goat cheese, they has remained faithful to tradition while constantly adapting to advances in technology. 

Le Chevrot is a small 5 cm (2") high 200 g (7 oz) goat-milk cheese that is produced in both raw and pasteurised milk versions. This chèvre is a "living" cheese, meaning the cheese continues to ripen when it is kept refrigerated at a temperature of 4-6°C.  When Le Chevrot is young it is soft, creamy and mild then as the cheese matures it becomes dryer and firmer and the characteristic goat taste is increased to perfection. A younger Chevrot pairs nicely with white wine and a more mature Chevrot is well appreciated with a bolder red.

Sèvre et Belle dairy also produces award winning barrel-churned butter and other goat milk cheeses among them Cabridoux and Le Chèvre d'Or.

2013/05/08

Pico

Pico is a lovely pasteurized goat-milk cheese manufactured and refined in Périgord in the Aquitaine region of south-west France.
 
Pico de Périgord

Pico is a small 100 g (3.5 oz) chèvre that comes in its own cute little round wooden box. It is an uncooked, unpressed soft cheese with an elegant creased natural rind that smells of fresh hay. The soft paste and rind are cream coloured with slight golden streaks. 
Pico has a fine and smooth texture, a rich creamy buttery nutty flavour with a subtle goat tang. Pico pairs nicely with a fruity champagne or a sparkling wine.

Pico is produced by Fromagerie la Picandine in Saint-Astier. Picandine have been making fresh and refined goat-milk cheeses since 1990, among them the famous Cabécou du Périgord.

2013/02/22

Le Cornebique


Le Cornebique is a soft delicate little farmer’s goat-milk cheese produced by La Chèvrerie Mathurin located in Ste-Sophie d'Halifax in the Centre-du-Québec region overlooking the Appalachians.

Le Cornebique
Le Cornebique is shaped in the form of a small log (8 cm long and 4.5 cm wide) with a cream coloured natural rind. The white coloured paste is chalky in the centre but extremely creamy along the inner rim.

Le Cornebique is a young pasteurised chèvre, matured for only 14 days. It has a mild to medium goat milk flavour with a more intense creamy nutty finish. Delectable!

Goats at the Chevrerie Mathurin farm
La Chèvrerie Mathurin is operated by Chantal Mathieu and her partner Raphaël Morin. The Mathurin farm is comprised of a herd of over 100 goats which most are Alpine breeds and a few are mixed with Nubian or LaMancha breeds. La Chèvrerie Mathurin also produces bottled non-homogenised pasteurised goat milk, yogurt, and fresh goat-milk & feta cheeses.


2013/02/07

Neufchâtel

Why not offer cheese to your Valentine this year?

You can't go wrong with a cute heart shaped French cheese, good crusty bread and your favourite bottle of wine.
 
Neufchatel - Coeur De Bray

Neufchâtel - Coeur de Bray is a soft bloomy rind, cow’s milk cheese from the Pays de Bray located in the French region of Normandie. Neufchâtel received its AOC (Appelation d'Origine Controlée) designation in 1969.

Neufchâtel is believed to be one of France's oldest cheeses dating back to the Middle Ages. 

The white edible moldy rind of Neufchâtel is dry and velvety. The lightly pressed, uncooked, cream coloured pâte is firm yet supple and slightly grainy. After an affinage of 8 to 10 weeks, the mold starts flavouring the cheese leaving a pleasant mushroom aroma and a salty sharper flavour.

The popular shape for Neufchâtel cheese is the heart, but the AOC allows it to be made in six different sizes and forms of either briquette, cylindrical or square.

Neufchâtel pairs well with a nice Bordeaux red such as a Pomerol - Château Treytins.

 
Neufchatel - Coeur De Bray

 
Neufchâtel can be found as a farmer, industrial and artisanal cheese. Here is a list of the official AOC Neufchâtel producers in the France's Normandie region.

There are other heart-shaped cheeses that can be served on Valentine’s Day, such as the Coeur du Berry a lovely French goat-milk cheese.

2013/01/31

Clandestin

Le Clandestin is an exquisite soft, washed rind cheese made with the pasteurised whole milks of both cow and sheep.

Clandestin
 
Le Clandestin has a lovely soft orange hued washed rind lightly specked with white. The sumptuous rich white coloured paste becomes very creamy after an affinage of five weeks.

Le Clandestin has a rustic farmer’s aroma. The cheese has a somewhat marked lactic flavour slightly acidic yet without being too aggressive.

Le Clandestin is produced by Fromagerie LeDétour located in Notre-Dame-du-Lac in Québec's Lower St-Laurence region in the Lake Témiscouata area near the New-Brunswick and the USA's Maine borders.

Fromagerie Le Detour is run by husband and wife team Ginette Bégin and Mario Quirion. They have been making artisanal cheeses since 1999. They produce a variety of milk products; butter, cream and hard, soft & semi-soft cheeses among them Magie de Madawaska and the lovely chèvre Grey Owl.

Le Clandestin pairs well with a classic Italian Chianti from Toscany. La Fromagerie Détour suggests pairing it with an Irish Malt Whiskey from Islay. Splendid!



2013/01/08

Saint-Clément

Le Saint-Clément is a welcomed new addition to the Québec artisanal chèvre family. 

Le Saint-Clément

Le Saint-Clément is a small 8 cm (3”) round pasteurised goat-milk cheese weighing approximately 120 g (4.5 oz). It has a lovely wheat coloured thin natural rind with a tender, smooth uncooked, unpressed, white pâte that melts in the mouth.  It has a mild “caprin” aroma with a balanced sweet and sour flavour.
Fromagerie Pampille & Barbichette, Sainte-Perpétue, Quebec

Le Saint-Clément is produced by La Fromagerie Pampille et Barbichette located in Sainte-Perpétue in Québec’s Centre region near Drummondville.  The farm and goat-milk cheese production is operated by François and Maryse Clément and family where they transform the farms goat milk into yogurts and lovely farmhouse cheeses such as; Edelweiss, Le Savoureux de Biquette and Délice de Fiora.
Le Saint-Clément pairs well with a nice South African Chenin blanc.

2012/12/14

Petit Corse aux Herbes

Petit Corse aux Herbes is a soft ripened sheep-milk cheese covered with herbs from the island of Corsica.

Petit Corse aux Herbes

Petit Corse aux Herbes is a small 150 gr (5 oz) round shaped cheese. The soft fine-textured ivory coloured paste is creamy and slightly salty. The strong-scented dried herbs that cover the cheese give it a flavoured bite.

Petit Corse aux Herbes is produced by Fromagerie Pierucci located in Vescovato, a commune in Upper Corsica. Fromagerie Pierucci operated by the Pierucci family for three generations, has become one of Corsica's leading cheese producers.

Corsica's Mediterranean climate and its mountainous terrain allow the livestock a diet that is rich, natural and flavourful.


Corsican Mouflon Ram and Ewe

The Corsican mouflon (Ovis musimon) is thought to be one of the two ancestors for all modern sheep breeds. These small and rustic sheep give up to four times less milk than the best dairy breeds, but the milk it produces is good milk that is very rich in proteins and lipids.


2012/09/07

La Tome de Chèvre Paul Georgelet

La Tome Georgelet is an artisanal ash covered goat-milk cheese from France.

La Tome de Chevre Paul Georgelet

The exterior rind is dry with a grey-blue mould covering its surface and has a musty odor. The interior cream coloured paste is lightly salty with a wonderful goat milk flavour that melts in the mouth.
Since this chèvre comes in the form of a small tomme of approximately 18 cm (7") diameter, the center (le coeur) of the cheese remains soft and creamy for a longer period. La Tome Georgelet can easily be enjoyed aged up to six months. Naturally, as the cheese ages the texture becomes firmer and the cheese flavours develop into more complex intensity.

Paul Georgelet

This excellent Tome de Chèvre is produced by artisan cheesemaker and farmer Paul Georgelet. As well as producing international acclaimed goat cheeses, Le Chabichou du Poitou and Le Mothais Sur Feuille, Paul Georgelet owns and operates an eighty hectares farm with five hundred goats. The farm and fromagerie Les Fromages de Chèvres Paul Georgelet is located in Villemain, a small commune in the department of Deux-Sèvres, in the Poitou-Charentes region of France.

2012/08/29

Chèvre d'Or


Chèvre d'Or is a soft pasteurised goat-milk cheese shaped into a small 150 g (5.3 oz) disk. It has an almond coloured natural rind with spots of white mold.

Chèvre d'Or

Chèvre d'Or is a living cheese. It is not wrapped and can ripen slowly, gaining in character. The texture also develops from creamy soft to flaky as the cheese ages. Naturally the flavours also develop from smooth to powerful. After three weeks it becomes dry and crumbly.

This chèvre is best served at the end of a meal. It pairs well with a white Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc when the cheese is young or a more robust red wine when the cheese is more mature.

Chèvre d'Or is produced by Sèvre et Belle, a small cooperative that was founded back in 1893, in the village of Celles-sur-Belle in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.

At Sèvre et Belle, the principles of artisanal production are kept alive. In the manufacture of dairy products, the cheese makers use the ladle 'molding' technique: where the curds are collected using a ladle and placed in straining molds. The molds are then turned over three times by hand and then curds are removed from the molds.  The salting, maturing and packaging processes are carried out with the same meticulous precision.

2012/08/24

Le Pizy

Le Pizy is a soft ripened pasteurised cow-milk cheese from the Lanaudière region of Quebec.

Le Pizy cheese
Le Pizy has a soft, mild, salty butter flavoured paste and an ivory coloured bloomy rind that emits hints of whey with a slight mushroom aroma. Le Pizy is a small circular 200 g. (7 oz.) flattened cheese wheel.

Le Pizy is produced by Fromagerie La Suisse-Normande located in St-Roch de l'Achigan, Québec. La Suisse-Normande operate a lovely goat farm and this gives them greater control over the quality of the raw cheese.  The fresh cow milk used for Le Pizy is supplied by their neighbors’ herd. La Suisse Normande are familiar with food, health and care given to the animals and the neighboring cow farm has the same values and the way it conducts its farm.


Making of Le Pizy at Fromagerie Suisse-Normande


La Suisse-Normande produce several artisanal type cheeses among them Le Sabot De Blanchette and Le Barbu two of my favourite Quebec chèvres.