Raclette de Chèvre
- Producer
- La Ferme du Petit Mont
- Country
- France
- Region
- Haute-Savoie
- Website
- www.lfpm.fr
- Milk
- Goat
- Treatment
- Raw
- Classification
- Firm
- Rennet
- Animal
- Rind
- Washed
- Style
- Alpine-style
Goat’s milk raclette is probably produced anywhere that cow’s milk raclette is produced: from the Valais in Switzerland to the Savoie in France. But this particular version hails from La Ferme du Petit Mont, in Bellevaux, France.
Like many goat’s other milk cheeses from the Alps, this cheese is produced in a similar way to its more well-known cow’s milk counterpart: raw milk is curdled using rennet, pressed into a large wheel, brine-salted and then washed periodically in while aging over three months.
While cow’s milk cheeses have long been commercialized here in the Savoie, goat’s milk cheeses were usually consumed within the household until a few decades ago. When farm owners Rebecca and Jean-Yves Zuccarelli left their day jobs in cities in the mid-1990s to start their goat farm in Bellevaux, having a farm focused exclusively on chèvres was uncommon. But over the years these cheeses have come into their own, partly due to the work of people like Rebecca and Jean-Yves. Today Rebecca heads the consortium devoted to promoting and protecting another classic goat’s milk cheese, Tomme de Chèvre de Savoie. She welcomes visitors to her farm and home, leading educational demonstrations and selling local products in an on-site shop.
This perfect-for-melting cheese is decidedly less stinky than its cow’s milk cousin. Flavor is buttery and mild with a subtle meaty savoriness, hints of dark cocoa and creamsicle and a goaty finish.
Tasting Notes
This perfect-for-melting cheese is decidedly less stinky than its cow’s milk cousin. Flavor is buttery and mild with a subtle meaty savoriness, hints of dark cocoa and creamsicle and a goaty finish.
Pairings
Perfect served melted over potatoes alongside a dry, fruity Crépy white wine from the Savoie.
