Chèvr’apéro
- Producer
- Chèvrerie des Daines
- Country
- France
- Region
- Savoie
- Weight
- 3.5 oz bag
- Website
- www.gaec-bemol.fr/
- Milk
- Goat
- Treatment
- Raw
- Classification
- Firm
- Rind
- Natural
- Style
- Fresh
These little goat cheese medallions are produced at Chèvrerie des Daines in Frangy, France, in the foothills of the Alps. The milk comes from a rare breed of goat that was nearly extinct when cheesemaker Cathy Berthet first started raising goats almost 20 years ago. The Chèvre de Savoie goat is basically a non-standardized version of the French Alpine; while Alpine goats were bred to have several uniform color schemes, these rarer types are gorgeously varied, with diverse splotches of white and beige, black and brown.
As the founder of the association to safeguard the breed, Berthet has been working to bring back the Chèvre de Savoie since 2001, increasing the animal population from 326 to over 1,000. The biggest obstacle is in convincing other farmers; with a lack of standardization—and the fact that the race isn’t officially recognized yet by the Ministry of Agriculture—there’s a dearth of data and statistics about the goat, such as the average quantities of milk produced.
Often these goats produce milk that’s transformed into cheese alongside milk from standard Alpines, so consumers sometimes eat cheese produced using milk from the endangered animals without knowing it. The goal of the association is to spread awareness about the attempt to bring back the breed and safeguard local diversity.
Berthet now produces these medallions along with several other goat’s milk cheeses, which are curdled using a slow lactic coagulation process. Every evening, fresh goat’s milk is channeled into a refrigerated vat, lactic ferments are added and the milk acidifies for 12 hours. The next morning, that milk is mixed with the morning’s fresh milk and rennet is added to promote further coagulation. The mixture is then left for another 24 hours to coagulate before being molded.
Berthet also produces chocolate and vanilla crème desserts and yogurts using milk from her herd of Savoie goats.
Tasting Notes
The tiny medallions are fresh yet firm and crumbly, and like other lactic-acid coagulated cheeses, they boldly express their goat’s milk flavor upfront.
Pairings
Perfect for apéro time served alongside a dry, fruity Crépy white wine from the Savoie.
