Voilà! This week's cheese. Fouettard Claquemolle.
Quel nom!
Et quel fromage!
This is another gorgeous cheese from La Ferme de Roquecave, near Ferrals les Montagnes in the Montagne Noire. We tasted their chèvre in April on La Fête du Fromage's one year anniversary.
This is an unpasteurized goat's milk cheese that is as fermier as you can get.
It had a seductive, sweet, grassy meadow aroma and a mild flavor that was a delicious mix of mushroom and yeast. You just knew this cheese was perfectly ripe! And the flavor wasn't overly goaty, which I found appealing.
The edible exterior was firm with a chalky texture, and as soon as the knife sliced into the cheese, its creamy center oozed out onto the plate. (I'm drooling at the memory)
All in all, Fouettard Claquemolle was an exquisite cheese. I just wish I had asked where that name came from...
A fouettard is a whip but what does claquemolle mean? Can anyone help?
We spread it on some fresh bread and drank some local, Minervois red with it, which seemed to be a perfect match.
7 comments:
Looks fabulous! Makes me want to stop off at the cheese counter on the way home. Closest thing I think I will find is brie...
That looks wonderful. Drooling right along with you.
rachel
will your cheese counter special order cheese for you? This one isn't available in the States, but they might not carry something that you would like to taste. Doesn't hurt to ask!
And if all you find is Brie, hey that's not such a bad thing. :)
Nola
Do you ever go to the St. James Cheese Co. on Magazine? I've heard they have a wonderful shop.
Fouettard could also come from the expression "Ça fouette!" which means that something has a violent smell.
Claquemolle I can't really trace, unless it makes a soft noise when slapped on a counter (which it probably does, given its consistency).
spacedlaw
Thanks for the help!
Gorgeous photo. I so wish we could find this unpasteurized beauties in California. There are definitely some great oozing goat cheeses here, but anything ages under 60 days has to be pasteurized. Ah... but our cheesemakers are wonderful too.
kirstin
I'm impressed by the "revolution" in cheesemaking in the States in the last few years. When I tasted some local cheeses in Carmel last winter I was blown away by the diversity and flavor!
But I still wish they would allow importation of these unique French cheeses.
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