La Fête du Fromage - Brebize

One of the best things about eating my way through the cheeses of France (other than stating the obvious) is that I'm learning about French geography as well.

Not too far from here is the Tarn - a gorgeous region that is home to Albi, a red brick covered bustling market town, and the farm Les Paulinetoises, who have been producing fromage de brebis for over 20 years in the small village of Paulinet.

This unpasteurized, bloomy-rind fromage is very odoriferous.  It is packed with heady barnyard aromas that I appreciate, but might put some people off.  Its bark is worse that its bite though...Brebize is quite mild tasting and seriously delicious.

The flavors are a mix of mushrooms, sweet hay and salty earth and the texture is oozing, smooth and chewy.  I thought it was just perfect smeared on some pain complet and enjoyed with a glass of local rosé.

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La Fête du Fromage - Brebis de Cocagne

Hold a morsel of this runny fromage de brebis up to your nose and breathe in the warm fragrance of earth and wild mushrooms. Place it on your tongue and savor its alluring, buttery flavor.

Brebis de Cocagne oozes charisma.
It also oozes all over the plate as soon as you cut into it.

Runny, gooey, delicious cheese. Perfect for spreading on bread.

There in no way that Brebis de Cocagne could be mistaken for anything other than sheep's milk cheese - it has that typical round, tangy, brebis character. Though the soft fragrance and texture masks a surprisingly gutsy, rich flavor.
I am smitten.

The region around Albi, in the Tarn is home to the producer of this unpasteurized fromage artisanal. A glass of dry white wine such as a dry Jurançon would be a nice match with Brebis de Cocagne.


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La Fête du Fromage - La Bouyguette

La Bouyguette is a slender, wrinkly, quenelle shaped goat's cheese from the stunning Tarn département of southern France. It is an artisanal cheese, produced on a small farm where a herd of 160 goats are allowed to feed on the sweet grass and flowers of the mountains north of Albi.

The cheese's unusual shape is formed by hand from the curds of unpasteurized goat's milk. It is then wrapped up in linen cloth with a a small branch of rosemary and allowed to mature for three weeks.
The rosemary subtly perfumes the cheese and the linen cloth gives the exterior of la Bouyguette a striking, furrowed texture.

This is another delicious chèvre. It has a sweet, grassy aroma and it's snowy-white interior has a silky smooth, velvety texture that melts in your mouth. The flavor was soft and slightly goaty, with hints of grassy meadows and rosemary.
I absolutely loved the creamy texture and soft, sweet flavor of this cheese.



The farm where it is produced, la Colline aux Chèvres, has a great website (in French) with descriptions of all of their cheeses and photos of some of the goats.

The rosemary and grassy flavors of la Bouyguette paired well with our local red Minervois wine.


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Photo du Jour

Little windows in Albi. Pin It

Photo du Jour

Secret Spiral Staircase.

Taken in Albi. Pin It

I Love Days Like These - A Trip To Albi

exterior of le Palais de la Berbie


Friday I took a little day trip to Albi to meet a fellow expat blogger. Another Washingtonian! Almost everyone I've met through this blog has been from Washington - a strange coincidence?


The first leg of the journey took me through the Montagne Noire, on a twisty, turny, full-of-hair-raising-hairpin-turns-road to Mazamet. (Thank god I was driving, if I'd been a passenger I would have been hurling!) The temperature plummeted as I drove through the dense, dark forests and the warning signs for deer and sanglier kept me alert. There were several tempting sites along the way but I wasn't sure of how long the trip would take and I didn't want to be late to pick up Betty at the train station in Albi at 11:50.

Just after Mazamet came my first glimpse of rolling green pastures and black and white cows. I passed a sign telling me that I was in Roquefort country then another for the village of Lautrec, home of the famous, delicious pink garlic and the ancestors of the painter, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who was born in Albi.



The rest of the trip went smoothly and Betty's train arrived on time. Our lunch reservations at the Restaurant Stéphane Laurens wasn't for another hour so we parked the car and headed straight for les Halles so I could see what kind of cheese was available.


exterior of les Halles -
and the interior


a great selection at La Fromagerie - it was difficult to restrain myself, though I did buy three kinds

Lunch was excellent! The restaurant is a beautiful space and the food was well presented and delicious. We didn't linger though, as our time in the city was to be short. A bit of exploring was in order!
Betty used to live in Albi, so I had a built in tour guide. She led me to a secret little square that was full of old doorways, through medieval passageways and to the 13th century cloister of Saint Salvi.


the cloisters



a quiet place


Back through the pedestrian streets that were filled with shoppers popping in and out of little boutiques, to the gardens behind the Palais de la Berbie which overlook the Tarn river. They were heavenly. The sun was shining over the city and it was a peaceful spot to take in the ambiance of Albi. The red brick buildings reminded me of Lucca and I became very enamored with the place.

the gardens




the Tarn river and Albi's other shore


Betty in the gardens


The day flew by and soon I was dropping Betty off at the train station and back on the road, this time taking the Autoroute through Toulouse - the same amount of driving time as the picturesque road that I took to drive there, but much less tiring.

Albi was well worth the visit. I wasn't expecting to find such a delightful, friendly city and I plan on returning soon.

Merci Betty! It was a wonderful day! Pin It

Photo du Jour

Beautiful blue doors in Albi. Pin It

Photo du Jour - Albi

Dionysus statue in the Palais de la Berbie gardens in Albi. Pin It