La Fête du Fromage - La Souréliette

The cutesy name of this cheese just begged for an equally cutesy nickname, and it came to me immediately after buying it. The French word for mouse is une souris and the French verb for smile is sourire, thus la Souréliette was christened The Smiling Mouse.

But the cutesy name didn't stick.
As soon as I found out that la Souréliette is actually named after the Occitan word for the sun - sourel - The Smiling Mouse seemed a bit silly.

And this unforgettable, unpasteurized ewe's milk cheese deserves respect!


La Souréliette de Fédou, also called la Souréliette de Hyelzas, is produced at La Fromagerie de Hyelzas le Fédou in the small village of Hyelzas in the picturesque Lozère département.

It is an uncooked, pressed mountain cheese that gives off a slight barnyard aroma as soon as it comes to room temperature. Its texture is supple and chewy, yet very dense and rich, and it is infused with a wonderful buttery, nutty flavor that is neither too mild nor too strong.

La Souréliette is perfect for those who don't like aggressive cheese, but crave one with real character.

A glass of hearty red such as Cahors or Gaillac would be a good wine pairing.

no need to eat the moldy rind Pin It

Templais Sec

The market in Nérac on Saturday yielded this nice hunk of Templais Sec from the village of Temple-sur-Lot in the Lot-et-Garonne département.

It was shared with a dozen others and the first taste comparison that sprung to everyone's mind was Parmigiano-Reggiano! It had that lovely, nutty flavor and that crumbly texture. Big, tasty shards were broken off with a blunt little cheese knife and enjoyed with a robust red from Cahors.
From the looks of it, Templier is only available locally, about two hours north of here. I looked for it at our market this morning and didn't find it. When I'm in Narbonne later this week I plan on asking about it at the fromagerie.
I loved nibbling on this cheese and should have brought home a big chunk of it. Guess we'll have to take another trip north to visit Kate at the Relais de Camont!


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La Fête du Fromage - Rocamadour and Chaource

Well, I finally made a list of all the cheeses we've tasted and this week's are numbers 29 and 30.
Only 30! Seems like we've tried a lot more than that.

A mere 335 more to taste.

Presenting Rocamadour and Chaource.

The minute you unwrap the little discs of Rocamadour, their lovely, hazelnutty aroma fills the room.

Made from unpasteurized goat's milk and recognized as one of France's AOC cheeses since 1996, these little babies are tasty and fabulous! Rocamadour cheese comes from the stunning, vertical, cliff-hugging town of Rocamadour in the Quercy region of the Lot Département.
It is the oldest cheese from this area - there is even documentation from the 15th Century of it's use as legal tender!
It has a very soft, slightly crumbly interior that melts on your tongue and its taste is mild and nutty. A perfect cheese to toast on bread and add to a salad or to spread on rye bread and drink with a hearty red wine, such as a Cahors.



Produced since the Middle Ages, Chaource takes it's name from a village in the famous Champagne region. Made from unpasteurized cow's milk and a recognized AOC cheese since 1970, Chaource can be enjoyed young, when it's flavor is light and the texture is firm and smooth, or aged, when the interior becomes runny around the edges and the flavor intensifies. 
The one we tasted was aged a bit. Its flavor was buttery, tangy and nutty with light mushroom and cream aromas. It reminded us of Camembert or a triple cream cheese from northern France.
I recommend this one highly.
Enjoy with fruit and some Champagne, of course!

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