Behind the French Menu: goat's cheese

Showing posts with label goat's cheese. Show all posts

Crottin de Chavignol AOP. One of France’s outstanding goats’ milk cheeses.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Different ages of Crottin de Chavignol AOP
and stage in its production.
(N.B. Crottin de Chavignol is pronounced krotan de chavinol)
Photograph courtesy of Sunny Ripert
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sunfox/4613789795/

The Crottin de Chavignol.

The Crottin de Chavignol is an excellent, creamy, when young, 32% fat, goats’ milk cheese made with unpasteurized milk. The minimum permitted aging is ten days, and from then on, the cheese is sold with varying degrees of maturity, some as long as three months or more. The youngest cheeses are mild and may be served warm in salads. The young cheese has a white rind, and as the cheese matures, the rind takes on a bluish tinge that cheese lovers look for. When aged for three or more months, the cheese will be crumbly and will have developed its distinctive taste with a kick. The smallest of these cheeses weighs just 60 grams (2.10 ounces) and is about 5cm (2”) wide by 2.5 cm high (1”)

The goats of Chavignol.
Photograph courtesy of JPC24M
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cjp24/16666609732/

The village of Chavignol is set in a very active neighborhood; to begin with, it is just 3.7 km (2.25 miles) away from the town of Sancerre, so famous for its excellent wines. All around are villages that are active in cheese making, running snail farms, wine-making, and other artisan food industries. Administratively Chavignol has been recognized as part of Sancerre, so I expect that over the years, Chavignol, with its less than 300 inhabitants, will have become a Sancerre suburb.

The ages of Chavignol

When the rind begins to turn blue, it will be about three months old. That is when a Crottin de Chavignol should be on a restaurant's cheese trolley or purchased to take home. If you have bought one to take home, then eat it within one or two weeks. Outside of the area, not every fromagerie will stock Crottin de Chavignol. With France's 46 AOP kinds of cheeses and at least another 1,200 registered cheeses fighting for shelf space, not even the largest cheese shop can carry everything. For a restaurant, keeping even 20 cheeses properly aged is a very expensive process. Fromageries will stock many more cheeses and, apart from the most popular cheeses and their own preferred choices, they will hold monthly specials. I spent some time with a Maître Fromager, a cheese master, in the city of Bourges. This well-educated cheese maven was also the owner of an excellent cheese store selling Crottin de Chavignol. He offers his customers and, on my visit, slivers of this cheese at two or three stages of maturity. He points out the different ages of each and allows the buyer to choose among the different tastes.

Three ages in the life of a Crottin de Chavignol.
The cream-colored cheese on the left is fresh and soft.
The cheese in the center is called “bluish” and ready to eat but mild.
The cheese on the right marked is aged and the choice of the cheese mavens who appreciate the bite.
Photograph courtesy of the Chavignol cheese producers.

When buying a Chavignol to take home, remember that cheeses with unpasteurized milk brought to the USA need to be clearly marked that they have aged over sixty days. The UK accepts the European Union inspected unpasteurized cheeses without any restrictions.

You’ll know when you arrive in Chavignol.
Photograph courtesy of Sunny Ripert
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sunfox/4613837935/

The village of Chavignol gave the cheese its name and remains a small and beautiful village in the department of Cher in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. The department of Cher is part of the ancient province of Berry in the Loire Valley and home to many famous wines and cheeses. Berry has five excellent goat’s cheeses including the Crottin de Chavignol AOP; the Valençay AOP; the Pouligny Saint Pierre AOP; the Selles sur Cher, AOP, and the Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine AOP

Crottin de Chavignol on French menus:

Salade de Crottin de Chavignol, (Salade Verte, Crottin Chaud, Tomate, Magret Fumé) – A green salad made with a young Crottin de Chavignol served warm, along with tomato and smoked duck breast.
La Tarte au Crottin de Chavignol – A cheese tart made with the Crottin de Chavignol.
Le Burger au Crottin de Chavignol – A cheeseburger made with the Crottin de Chavignol.
Crottin de Chavignol Chaud sur Pain Poilâne Toasté - Crottin de Chavignol served on toasted Polar bread also called Swedish bread or Nordic bread. This bread is a traditional rye flour flat bread with dimples.
Crottin de Chavignol sur Toast au Miel d'Acacia et Pignons de Pin - Crottin de Chavignol cheese served on toast with Acacia honey and pine nuts.

Acacia Honey.
Photograph courtesy of Daioh
https://www.flickr.com/photos/parparlotie/3738445557

Crottin de Chavignol Rôti et Poires Grillée - Crottin de Chavignol roasted and served with grilled pears.

Celebrating the Crottin de Chavignol

With such a famous cheese, there is an annual fete to celebrate it: the Fete du Crottin de Chavignol, the Chavignol cheese fair; it is held on the first Saturday and Sunday in May. Chavignol uses its position very well, and the festival is set in between the village of Chavignol and the town of Sancerre in the Caves de la Mignonne. Even if you missed the Fete du Crottin de Chavignol, the village of Sancerre and the villages roundabout have about twelve fêtes over weekends between April and August, celebrating local wines, cheeses, snails, and other products offering tastes and places to purchase. One fete that should not be missed celebrates Sancerre wines and oysters.

The Tourist Information Office of Sancerre has an English-language website that covers the whole area of Sancerrois, including all the villages and places of interest around the town of Sancerre and Chavignol. Whatever you do not see clearly on their website, write to them, and within three or four days you will have a reply. Their English language website is:

https://www.tourisme-sancerre.com/

Most of the Chavignol cheese is produced near the village. However, for historical reasons, some of the cheese is made just over the border in the neighboring departments of Loiret and Nièvre in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

The Château de Sancerre
Photograph courtesy of JPC24M
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cjp24/5544936637/

Getting to Chavignol and Sancerre

Bourges, the capital of the ancient province of Berry and now the capital of the department of Cher is in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. Bourges is a beautiful and fascinating city, and from there to Chavignol or Sancerre is just 46 km (29 miles), and that is less than one hour by car or bus from Bourges. Caveat emptor, avoid the train it will take you three hours.

The meaning of the word crottin.

The word crottin is part of the name of many small goats’ cheeses. The rather unfortunate translation of this word into English is a little piece of animal dung! Nevertheless, do not worry; the small goats’ cheeses with crottin as part of their name are mostly excellent. A few hundred years ago, when the local farmers were handing out the names for tiny cheeses, they did not have a public relations expert at hand. They looked at the size of the cheese and playfully associated the shapes with names that they knew. Who expected these cheeses to be sold around the world and become part of the cheese course in three-star Michelin restaurants?

Wines from Sancerre.
Photograph courtesy of dpotera
https://www.flickr.com/photos/e_calamar/7073195509/

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Behind the French Menu
by
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behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

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Vinegar, Vinaigrette and Verjus in French Cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

The production of vinegar.

Drawing by Louis Figuier, (1819-1894).

Photograph courtesy of Biblioteca de la Faculthe ltad

de Derecho y Ciencias del Trabajo.

The University of Seville, Spain.

Vinaigre -Vinegar

To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomatist---the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know exactly how much oil one must put with one's vinegar.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900).

Author, poet, and playwright was born in Dublin he died in Paris.

From the play Vera, or the Nihilists.

This was the first play written by Oscar Wilde and was published in 1880.

Vinaigre – Vinegar; the word comes from the French for sour wine, vin aigre. Despite vinegar’s origins in today’s French kitchens, plain wine vinegars have a great deal of competition. Flavored wine vinegars and fruit vinegars are in every restaurant and home kitchen. Among the many fruit vinegars, Normandy and Brittany promote cider vinegars alongside their famous ciders and apple brandies. All over France distilleries producing alcoholic fruit eau-de vies will be out there selling their fruit vinegar as they are valuable by-products. The traditional sauce vinaigrette was made with wine vinegar. Nevertheless, fruit vinegars and of course, that much enjoyed Italian import balsamic grape vinegar is often in contention. When wine vinegar is used, then the name of the wine that was used to create the vinegar is usually on the menu.

Chevreuil Rôti, Béarnaise au Vinaigre de Banyuls, Purée de Panais et Échalotes - Roast roe deer, served with a Béarnaise sauce flavored with vinegar from the famous sweet wines from the town of Banyuls sur Mer on the Mediterranean coast.

Cœur de Bœuf, Rôtie au Vinaigre Chardonnay, Salade et Truffe d'Été - The beefsteak tomato roasted and served with a salad with winter truffles flavored with chardonnay wine vinegar.

Choose your vinegar

Photograph courtesy of Bon Appétit

Fines Tranches d’Agneau, Vinaigre de Merlot, Huile de Noisettes Courgettes et Tomates Confites, Racines d’Hiver. Thin slices of lamb served with merlot wine vinegar and hazelnut oil, accompanied by a thick and sweet courgette, the USA zucchini, and tomato jam and winter root vegetables.

Tranches de Foie Gras aux Figues et Gelée au Vinaigre de Muscat de Rivesaltes – Slices of fattened duck's liver served with its own jelly and a fig jam flavored with vinegar from the sweet Muscat de Riversaltes wine.

Vinaigre Balsamique - Balsamic vinegar.

Balsamic vinegar is only legally produced in and around the city of Modena, Italy. Despite balsamic vinegar’s Italian provenance, the French recognize and happily receive the best products from around the world and they incorporate them in their kitchen. Balsamic vinegar is very popular and its use will be noted on the menu.

Testing Balsamic Vinegar in Modena, Italy

Photograph courtesy of Marenello.

Balsamic vinegar comes from the Trebbiano grape. It owes its unique taste not only to that grape but also to the manner in which it is aged. The aging process takes the vinegar through to five different wooden barrels, each adding to the flavor. This grape vinegar is unlike most grape-based vinegars as it was never a wine. However; despite never having been a wine the vinegar itself does ferment. Then, as part of its aging, the cellar master, as with fine wines, must evaluate the exact amount of fermentation as the vinegar passes through the five barrels: oak, chestnut, cherry, ash and finally mulberry, before being bottled. A young balsamic vinegar will rarely be less than five years old.

The finest balsamic vinegars are aged for 15 to 30 years and are more expensive than many fine wines. Foods and salads prepared with balsamic vinegar offer a different and unique taste.

Salade de Chèvre Chaud, Échalotes Rôties au Vinaigre Balsamique- A hot goats’ cheese salad served with roasted shallots and Balsamic vinegar.

Cailles Rôties et Pimientos au Chèvre Frais, Vinaigre Balsamique Réduit - Roasted quail and sweet peppers and fresh goat’s cheese served with a thickened balsamic vinegar sauce.

Risotto aux Légumes, Vieux Vinaigre Balsamique, Roquette et Parmesan - A vegetable risotto flavored with an aged Balsamic vinegar, rocket and Parmesan cheese.

Magret de Canard au Miel et Vinaigre Balsamique – Duck breast cooked with a honey and Balsamic Vinegar sauce.

Soupe de Fraise au Vinaigre Balsamique - A cold strawberry soup flavored with Balsamic Vinegar.

Steak, rocket and aged Balsamic vinegar.

Photograph courtesy of wEnDy

www.flickr.com/photos/wwny/655374509/

Balsamic sauce

A balsamic sauce sometimes called a Balsamic reduction is made by heating Balsamic vinegar until it slowly concentrates and thickens. This process results in the quantity being reduced and that explains the term reduction. The process intensifies the flavor of the Balsamic vinegar and may be added to a sauce or cooked directly with meat dishes. A balsamic sauce will also add a rush of flavor to salads

Vinaigre d'Orléans – The vinegar of Orleans. A wine vinegar from the town most associated with Joan of Arc. Orleans is on the Loire river in the valley of the Loire. This vinegar is aged for a minimum of six months before being sold.

Salade de Mâche et Betteraves et Vinaigre d'Orléans "Vieille Réserve”. - A salad of France’s wonderful lambs’ lettuce salad greens, beetroots, and an especially old Orleans vinegar.

Ravioles d'Épinards, Sauce au Vinaigre d'Orléans. Spinach ravioli served with an Orleans vinegar sauce.

Vinaigre de Cidre – Cider vinegar. Most cider vinegars though fermented are made from apple juice before it has become cider. Despite that, there is a great deal of competition for the sale of cider vinegars and some will be aged in oak barrels. Chefs use cider vinegar in recipes where its unique taste makes a difference. Still, cider vinegar is a strong tasting vinegar and so it is used carefully.

At one-time cider vinegar was sold like a patent medicine or a cure-all and it is still recommended for its homeopathic properties. Maybe there is something in that “apple a day.”

Colvert Rôti, Navets Confits au Vinaigre de Cidre – Mallard duck served with a sweet turnip jam flavored with cider vinegar.

Pavé de Cabillaud Rôti au Vinaigre de Cidre, Pot au Feu de Légumes - A thick slice of roasted cod flavored with cider vinegar and served with a vegetable pot au feu, a heavy stew.

Suprême de Pintadeau Braisé aux Pommes et Vinaigre de Cidre – Guinea hen breast braised with potatoes and flavored with cider vinegar.

Vinaigre de Fraises - Strawberry vinegar. Strawberry vinegar may be either a flavored wine vinegar or a vinegar made from a strawberry eau-de-vie. Strawberry vinegar along with other sweet berry and fruit vinegars are mostly used to flavor sauces. The examples below show just three fruits, but practically every fruit that is made into an alcoholic eau de vie also has its own vinegar.

Carpaccio de Lotte au Vinaigre de Fraises. – A monkfish Carpaccio marinated in strawberry vinegar.

Rhubarbe et Vinaigre de Fraises- Rhubarb cooked with strawberry Vinegar.

Vinaigre de Framboise – Raspberry vinegar

Magret de Canard au Miel d'Acacia et Vinaigre de Framboise – Duck breast cooked in accacia honey and raspberry vinegar.

Spanish strawberry and raspberry vinegars.

Photograph courtesy of Esencia Andalusí

www.flickr.com/photos/esenciaandalusi/16344693545/

Salade de Gésiers d'Oie déglacée au Vinaigre de Framboise - A salad of goose gizzards cooked in a thickened raspberry vinegar.

Viinaigre de Jerez - See Vinaigre de Xérès .

Vinaigre de Pêches - Peach vinegar.

Aiguillettes de Canard au Vinaigre de Pêches. – Slices of duck flavored with peach vinegar.

Vinaigre de Pommes - Apple vinegar. See Vinaigre de Cidre.

Vinaigre de Reims (Le) – Reims Vinegar; a vinegar made from Champagne; this is considered to have a lighter touch than other wine vinegars. Reims is the largest city in the Champagne-Ardenne region and that region that is home to most of the Champagne vineyards.

Daurade Marinée, Pommes de Terre, Oignons Rouges au Vinaigre de Reims - Marinated gilthead sea bream, potatoes, red onions prepared with the Reims vinegar.

Entrecôte de Bœuf Échalottes au Vinaigre de Reims – An entrecote steak prepared with shallots and flavored with Reims vinegar. Reims is the most important town in the Champagne area and is made with Champagne.

Vinaigre Vieux - Aged vinegar. While the words aged vinegar could refer to any vinegar when no further description is offered it is an aged wine vinegar that will be used.

Farci de Tomate aux Fregola Sarde, Girolles et Vinaigre Vieux- Stuffed tomatoes with the unique Sardinian toasted wheat pasta prepared with chanterelle mushrooms and flavored with aged vinegar.

Pickling olives with red wine vinegar

Weeks after picking, the olives are jarred with a 3 to 1 mixture of water and red wine vinegar, oregano, lemon slices and garlic cloves. Ready for tasting in another 45 days. Photograph courtesy of Jessica Merz

www.flickr.com/photos/jessicafm/3139773279/

Vinaigre de Xérès - Sherry Vinegar. Despite its Spanish provenance, this is a very popular vinegar in French kitchens. Sherry vinegars are produced in the same area where sherry wines are produced in Spain. Sherry vinegar is aged in oak barrels for a minimum of six months and while in the barrel, like other wine vinegars, the presence of oxygen allows bacteria to convert the alcohol to vinegar. True vinegars have at least 6% acetic acid and sherry vinegars additionally have about 3% residual alcohol. The original taste of the sherry remains with the vinegar and allows it to produce some very special tastes. A sherry vinaigrette sauce with a salad can be wonderful.

Sherry Vinegar

Photograph courtesy of Terroirs

Like the producers of balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar producers have realized that there is a great deal of added value when they sell well-aged and flavorsome vinegars. All sherry vinegars are aged in a barrel for at least six months and then may be sold as a Vinaigre de Jerez. Older sherry vinegars spend two years in a barrel, usually oak; these vinegars are called Gran Reserva, and their price is much higher than the six-month-old vinegars. After ten years in the barrel, a very expensive vinegar will be produced; this is a unique vinegar called Vinagre de Jerez Gran Reserva.

Ris de Veau, Risotto Arborio au Parmesan, Jus Aigre Doux au Vinaigre de Xéres. – Veal sweetbreads served with a risotto made with Arborio rice and Parmesan cheese and flavored with a sweet and sour sauce made with Sherry vinegar.

La Salade Tiède de Scampis Grillés au Vinaigre de Xérès et Pointes d'Asperges – A warm salad of grilled scampi, Dublin bay prawns, served with Sherry vinegar and asparagus tips.

Salade de Rillauds d'Anjou au Vinaigre de Xérès. A salad of spiced pork belly pieces, prepared in the manner of Anjou, cooked until crisp and crunchy.

Pigeon Entier, Désossé, Sauce au Miel et Vinaigre de Xérès – A whole pigeon, deboned and prepared in a sauce made of honey and sherry vinegar.

Vinaigrette - The most well known of all French sauces or salad dressings. The original and traditional French dressing is olive oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic and herbs. This is the dressing often just called a French dressing and that it is; it is also always better when tasted in France!

Vinaigrette olive oil and Balsamic vinegar

Photograph courtesy of Chris Dlugosz

www.flickr.com/photos/chrisdlugosz/3405367811/

Verjus - Juice from unripe grapes. Unripe grapes are not sweet and while verjus does not taste like vinegar it was used in the Middles Ages in much the same way as vinegar is used today. Then a few hundred years ago vinegar took over from verjus in the popularity polls. Now, knowledgeable chefs are looking at the different tastes that certain verjus’s create. They are using those tastes and putting them back on the menu and recreating flavors that were lost along with new creations. The name verjus is old French and simply means green juice.

A Flatiron (rare) steak, (Macreuse de Bœuf in French),

mushroom jerky, grape, verjus

Photograph courtesy of Krista

www.flickr.com/photos/scaredykat/8513826232/

Huîtres en Papillote au Verjus – Oysters baked with verjus inside a sealed baking parchment paper or aluminum foil. When ready the sealed parchment or foil will be placed on the table and opened in front of the diners. Then the concentrated aroma may be appreciated before the dish is served.

La Salade de Canard Fumé au Verjus – A salad made with smoked duck and served with verjus instead of a vinaigrette sauce.

Poitrine de Colvert au Verjus – Breast of mallard duck prepared with verjus.

--------------------------------

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

--------------------------------

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases

French menus?

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas), and search with Google, Bing, or another browser. Behind the French Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

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