La Fête du Fromage - Le Crabot

There's a cheesemonger at the Olonzac market who has become a very valuable acquaintance.
While nibbling on some cheese samples at his stall one week we started talking and I told him about la Fête du Fromage. That was all it took for him to take me under his wing.

He now relishes in introducing me to something new or explaining in great detail what region or village the cheese comes from, who produces it, etc., all the while ignoring the line of customers as it builds up behind me.
Each week I struggle to translate the piles of information he flings at me in his rapid fire French. My note taking skills get better all the time.


This week he recommended le Crabot, an unpasteurized goat's milk cheese that is produced in the mountainous Ariège department in southwestern France, where it is aged for about 10 weeks in caves.

Le Crabot's buttery, nutty aroma is irresistible! And the flavor is even better; incredibly smooth and creamy with scrumptious notes of mushroom and hazelnut. Its texture is dense, chewy and very rich. And although its flavor is intense, it isn't strong, rather nice and well-rounded.

In case you haven't already guessed, I loved le Crabot! A glass of local red alongside only added to the enjoyment.



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La Fête du Fromage

One of the mobile fromageries that come to the Olonzac market is owned by a pair of friendly and gregarious guys who I find very helpful in my quest for new cheeses to try. Last week I stopped by their truck to have a chat with them and taste a few samples. I ended up falling in love with and buying a cheese that they called Fromage de Trois Laits and some Bethmale, which I've already tasted and written about.



The lush Fromage de Trois Laits was a rich mélange of unpasteurized cow, goat and sheep's milk that was produced in the Pyrénées mountains where it was aged for a minimum of four months. I did a bit of research on this cheese and found several types of cheese from the Pyrénées that were a mixture of cow and sheep milk, called Mixte, or sheep and goat milk, but not all three. Anyone ever heard of it?
It had a dense and creamy texture that I thought was just perfect! The flavor was sweet, buttery, mildly salty and very voluptuous. If you can get a hold of some Fromage de Trois Laits, you must try it!
A glass of Graves sec or a Jurançon sec would compliment this cheese nicely. Pin It

La Fête du Fromage - Bethmale and Pélardon des Corbières

More fantastic cheese this week! These were two that we really loved, Bethmale and Pélardon des Corbières.

Bethmale (BETT-malle) is well loved, traditional, cow's milk cheese from the valley of Bethmale, in the Midi-Pyrénées region of southwestern France. Legend says that this very mild cheese became a favorite of King Louis VI after he passed through the region in the 12th Century.
 The interior is a pale yellow color and the texture is semi-smooth, firm and full of tiny holes. Bethmale has a nutty and earthy aroma and a mellow, buttery and mushroomy flavor. I can't imagine anyone not liking this cheese. Its tempered flavor is very appealing.
 A robust red wine, such as a Minervois, would be perfect to drink with this cheese.

Locally made Pélardon des Corbières is a fermier, unpasteurized goat's milk cheese made near the stunning village of Lagrasse in the Corbières area of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France.
 It is an AOC cheese made using traditional methods; after each milking the milk is left to curdle, then it is shaped by hand into little disks and left to mature for at least 11 days.
It had traces of an edible blue mold on its rind and a slightly acidic, salty and nutty flavor. Its soft and supple texture melted in our mouths. Delicious!
Drink some Corbières or Minervois red alongside.

There is also a Pélardon des Cevennes, which is produced in the Cevennes region, north of Montpellier.


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