Monday, December 26, 2011

Cheese of the week is Bucheron - Evansville Courier & Press

 Photo by Aimee Blume

Bucheron is a classic log-shaped French goat cheese, soft-ripened with a bright, tangy flavor. AIMEE BLUME / Special to The Courier & Press


Price HHI


Bucheron is an aged goat cheese from the Loire Valley in Central France. This region is famous for its lightly aged, tangy, citrusy goat cheeses.


While it may be hard to find in our area, Bucheron was one of the first and most popular French goat cheeses imported into the United States.


Like most French cheeses, Bucheron is made with unpasteurized milk in France, but the cheeses made for import to the United States use pasteurized milk.


After draining, the goat milk curds are formed into a log 4 to 5 inches in diameter and inoculated with a white penicillium mold. After ripening for five to 10 weeks, a layer from one-quarter to one-inch thick just under the edible rind becomes silky, translucent and eventually almost runny with a rich flavor. The center retains the firm, flaky texture and lemony fresh goat cheese flavor. The more age the cheese has, the thicker the softened area becomes, although it never reaches the center.


The logs are sliced into disks for sale and serving.


Bucheron is one of the few cheeses available in Evansville that utilizes the Penicillium glaucum mold in addition to the more common Penicillium Candidum. Candidum mold creates the soft, dry, bloomy white surface and even ripening found in Brie and Camembert cheeses.


Glaucum molds sometimes are used to blue the insides of cheeses. The combination of the two molds in Bucheron leads to a slightly wrinkled surface that is not as mushroomy as would be formed with candidum molds alone.


This cheese looks spectacular on a cheeseboard because of its unusual shape and the differences in texture brought on by the ripening process.


Serve it with dry Loire Valley white wines such as Sancerre and Pouilly Fume, or with a large, flavorful red wine. It often is used for crumbling over green salads and goes very well with peas.


Baby Spinach, Pea and Bucheron Salad


From Robert Love's Food and Recipe Blog


Serves 2


INGREDIENTS


4 cups baby spinach leaves, cleaned and dried


1 cup frozen green peas, thawed and drained


1 shallot, diced small


- Sea salt, to taste


- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste


1 medium-large lemon, juiced


- Your best peppery olive oil, to taste


¹/ pound Bucheron, or your favorite chèvre, crumbled


DIRECTIONS


1 Combine the baby spinach leaves, green peas and shallot in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice and olive oil.


2 Plate, along with a liberal garnish of the crumbled Bucheron. Serve immediately.

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