{"id":90796,"date":"2022-08-11T07:21:13","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T21:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/?p=90796"},"modified":"2022-08-11T07:21:15","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T21:21:15","slug":"chaource-the-wonder-of-fromage-unveiling-one-french-cheese-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/2022\/08\/11\/chaource-the-wonder-of-fromage-unveiling-one-french-cheese-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Chaource: The wonder of Fromage \u2013 unveiling one French cheese at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It would be easy, in spotting a downy, barrel-shaped Chaource, to confuse it for double-cream Brillat-Savarin. I\u2019ll admit I\u2019ve done it several times before, and Lionel Dosne of the Ferme des Tourelles<\/a> <\/em>quickly reassures me I\u2019m not the only one.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEspecially in the Paris region,\u201d he asserts, \u201cpeople get mixed up a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cheeses, he says, are ‘cousins’: Brillat-Savarin, once known as Excelsior, is reinforced in extra cream, while Chaource is made simply with whole milk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means we take the milk as the cows are kind enough to give it to us, and we transform it.<\/p> says Dosne<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Milk, rennet, and salt \u2013 that\u2019s all you need for the perfect Chaource. The secret to the cheese\u2019s creaminess, according to Dosne, is \u201call the mystery and all the work around the production of the milk.\u201d He was happy enough to share a few of those secrets with us.<\/p>\n\n\n

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What is Chaource?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chaource is a regional cheese made on the border between Burgundy and Champagne. A member of the same bloomy-rinded family as Camembert or Brie, it is treated with Penicillium camemberti <\/em>mold to encourage a downy white crust to form. Between this mushroomy crust and the chalky, fudgy interior, a good Chaource will have a thin, runny layer just beneath the rind. With a flavor boasting saltiness and acidity in equal measure, Chaource is nutty, creamy, and woodsy.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Fromagerie Lincet<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

For Mathilde Lincet, Marketing and Communications Director for Fromagerie Lincet<\/a> <\/em>and Fromagerie Gaugry<\/em>, one of the essential elements of making a good Chaource lies in lactic fermentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis means that the milk is going to coagulate all on its own, with just a tiny bit of animal rennet \u2013 really, a homeopathic dose,\u201d she asserts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat lactic quality of the milk is going to have certain extremely interesting organoleptic characteristics with fairly fruity flavors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Combined with the mushroom quality of the rind, it\u2019s pure pleasure to discover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making Chaource: a story of quality milk<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Chaource<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Chaource<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A good Chaource begins, of course, with milk. And unlike many other protected cheeses in France, the Chaource AOP demands no particular breed \u2013 and according to Dosne, this is historically accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis area was known for intermingling from all over Europe,\u201d he says, citing fairs and markets that brought people from all over the continent to this little corner of France. \u201cSo rather than just one breed, there were many all over the area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we could have, we would have written \u2018a mix of breeds’,\u201d he asserts of the phrasing in the cahier des charges <\/em>\u2013 a document that establishes rules and standards for French IGPs, AOPs, and AOCs. \u201cBut it didn\u2019t really fit with the reality, today, so we didn\u2019t write anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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