September 30, 2009

La Fête du Fromage - Cathare

The Occitan Cross, the omnipresent symbol of the Languedoc, is displayed on everything from the regional flag, street signs, T-shirts and sweatshirts, key chains, bumper stickers, graffiti and even cheese. Yes, cheese.

Voilà Cathare.


This distinctive fromage de chèvre fermier was created in 1995 at La Ferme de Cabriole in the Lauragais. It is home to about 120 Saanen goats which graze in the pastures surrounding the farm for 8-10 months of the year and produce a whopping 2½-5 liters of milk a day, per goat.

Underneath the layer of ash lies a luscious, unpasteurized cheese with a creamy, velvety smooth, almost liquid texture that simply melts in your mouth. Cathare is sold after 2 weeks of affinage, resulting in a flavor that is mild, slightly buttery and salty, with soft hints of chèvre. As it ages, the goat flavor becomes more pronounced and the texture more firm and dry.

This is a truly delightful cheese and I can't recommend it more highly!

A dry white wine would be a good match. Pin It

9 comments:

spacedlaw said...

J'ai faim.

Dan said...

Please excuse the naive questions, but how else will I learn: Why ashes? Does one eat the ashes?

carondg said...

I love this cheese. Amazingly, I've had it in San Diego from one of our cheese shops, Venissimo. It's as delicious as it is beautiful.

Jennifer said...

spacedlaw
le fromage...miam miam!

dan
Yes, the ash is edible. Ash is used to keep the cheese moist and sometimes to encourage mold growth (a good thing).
It is flavorless, so go ahead and enjoy!

caron
That is great! I wasn't sure if it was exported to the States. Thanks for letting us know.

Sandy said...

i need to try this cheese! Miam miam!=)

Cherrye at My Bella Vita said...

I don't think I have ever tried this cheese. I need to get back to France! :-)

emiglia said...

Wow! I would love to give this to the kids at the place in Aude where I work in the summer... I think they'd get a kick out of it! I'm glad to hear that it's tasty along with being so fun and cute!

Jennifer said...

Sandy
You won't be disappointed!

Cherrye
France has such amazing cheese. :)

emiglia
You should! Educate those taste buds!

Cinema Revisited said...

Couldn't find this when I was in Toulouse. I saw it on sale in Brixton but was unable to carry it home. :-(