Bite-size pieces: French goat’s cheese

Food in focus: French goat’s cheese La Ferme Saint-Aubin, St-Louis en I’lle, Paris

 

Galet du mas de Thomas

Au lait cru means that this was made with raw milk, carrying the flavours of the pasture that the goats grazed on.

Selles-sur-cher aoc

Named after a village in the Loire Valley, the AOC status (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) of this cheese requires stringent testing and association with a region.

Selles-sur-cher noir aoc

Also rolled in ash and aged, this cheese has a nutty flavour and a velvety, creamy mouth-feel due to its high fat content.

Pouligny-Saint-Pierre

This pyramid-shaped cheese is handmade from the perfumed milk of goats who graze on heath and sainfoin

(a flowering pink herb).

Galet du mas de Thomas noir

This noir version has been rolled in ash. Known as Cendré de Niort, this technique wasused for preservation.

Tomme de ventadour

The rind of this cheese is rubbed with alcohol or champagne marc, which is the skins and pips of grapes used to make Champagne.

Epic rouelle noir

This black rouelle has been rolled in ash and aged, and has acquired grey mould. Containing 21 per cent fat, it’s used in salads or eaten at the end of meals.

Epic rouelle

From the Midi-Pyrénées, this cheese has a hole in the centre and its crust is a natural geotrichum candidum (mould).

 

Photography by Carli Ratcliff.