August 5, 2008

La Fête du Fromage - Margalet


A strange thing happened at my favorite Fromagerie in Béziers last week...
Either the woman behind the counter hadn't properly educated herself about her products or I was blatantly lied to.

This Camembert-like sheep's milk cheese, nestled in a little wooden box, caught my eye. The name printed on the box was Margalet. Never heard of it.
I posed a couple of basic questions; what kind of milk is it made from? pasteurized or unpasteurized? fermier, artisanal or industriel?

I was told that it is unpasteurized, fermier brebis. Wonderful, I thought, and bought a piece.

Well, it isn't.
Not unpasteurized. Not fermier.
Rather, industriel, pasteurized cheese that is a recent creation from Papillon, the producers of Roquefort in the Aveyron.
However it is brebis, so she got that right. Thankfully.



I have to say that I felt rather misled.
Luckily the cheese's gorgeous flavor made up for the Fromagère's mistake/deception.

Margalet has a very earthy aroma and a smooth, chewy and supple texture. The thin, bloomy rind is completely edible and underneath is a cheese with a deep mushroom flavor and a soft, lingering aftertaste. It was a real pleasure!

Enjoy a glass of Sancerre or a Costières de Nîmes with Margalet. Pin It

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope you enjoyed it. It looks like it was delish.

Anonymous said...

You have to wonder sometimes, don't you? Years ago in a restaurant in the Loire Valley, the waitress spun us a tale about one of the cheeses being "mi-vache, mi-chèvre". We weren't convinced on tasting it, and a few minutes later we overheard her telling a completely different story about the same cheese to someone at another table :-)

Jennifer said...

my mélange
It was great cheese! Might even be available in the US. You should look for it.

veronica
Oh no! That is funny, yet awful at the same time.