July 15, 2010

La Fête du Fromage - Tomme de la Cavalerie


Aveyron cheeses never fail to surprise me.
The farmers and fromagers from this picturesque and sparsely populated region produce a stunning array of delicious cow, sheep and goat cheeses.  Cheeses of every texture, affinage and even color are made here.

Take your pick.  Fantastic fromages de chèvre include the creamy little Cabécou de l'Aveyron and the very bold Saint-Christophe.  High on the Plateau du Larzac, where sheep outnumber people, you'll find the world famous Roquefort caves.
This is the region of one of my favorite blues, Bleu des Causses, and rustic and earthy unpasteurized ewe's milk cheeses such as Galette du Larzac and Brebis du Larzac.  The buttery smooth Tomme de Brenac is a superb fromage de vache, or if you like to mix it up a little, try the half cow, half goat cheese, le Petit Campredon.

Tomme de la Cavalerie is another Aveyron charmer.  It is produced in the region surrounding Millau, near the small town of La Cavalerie, which is famous for being a stronghold of the Knights Templar.
This cheese is super buttery, rich and yeasty, with a perfect amount of salt to balance the flavors.  It is an unpasteurized fromage de vache with a slight buttery and milky aroma and mild, exquisite flavor.  I loved it!

A glass of local Minervois red was a great match, and I imagine that Marcillac would be good as well.


Other Aveyron cheeses:
le Lacandou
la Marotte
Margalet
Pérail du Larzac

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6 comments:

spacedlaw said...

It is too hot here to eat that sort of cheese (too much fat, really) but I still drool looking at the pictures!
I am a casein addict.

Diane said...

I like the sound of the Tomme de la Cavalerie, must have a look for that. Diane

Amanda said...

You are making me drool again!

Graham said...

Tomme de la Cavalerie (and other Tommes from the Larzac) are the nearest non-chèvre around the Herault valley area. The bio Les Truels du Larzac sell a delicious one at the Clermont l'Herault market.
You have a typo by the way - cows cheese isn't made on the Larzac.

Graham said...

Dairy cows on the Larzac is a new one for me. There are places up there with enough topsoil to support suitable grass pastures, so why not. I do know there are beef cattle in the Buèges valley to the east of the Larzac. Looking at a map the Cernon valley is near La Cavalerie so perhaps there are a few dairy cattle there.

If you find out more (name of the farm/producer, where the cows are) I'd me most interested.

Jennifer said...

spacedlaw
It's been hot here too. But never too hot to enjoy cheese. :)

Diane
I'm sure you'll love it!

Nadege
lol Should I apologize?

Graham
I'll let you know if I find out more. I'll have to go back to the fromager and ask.
Thanks for the recommendation at the market in Clermont.