Langres cheese . It is a French cheese from the Langres plateau in the Champagne-Ardenne region of the Haute-Marne department . It has benefited from an AOC since 1991 , and protected as a European PDO by EC Regulation No. 1107/96.
Summary
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- 1 History
- 2 Elaboration
- 3 Features
- 4 Sources
History
It is a cheese originating from the Langres plateau . It has been known since the 18th century , thanks to the prior of the Dominicans in the city of Langres . But this cheese is considered to have been produced locally since the time of the Merovingian kings . Their trade developed little by little: the merchants of Langres bought the fresh cheese and matured it in their own warehouses, to later send it to Paris and Genoa . The designation of origin was recognized in 1991 . Similar to livarot , it is mostly consumed locally. It has to be on the labelthe logo with the abbreviation INAO , and note that it has AOC as well as the name of the cheese.
Elaboration
Maturation takes 5 weeks at least. Production in 1998 was around 305 tons , a decrease of 1.61% since 1996, and 2% from farms.
features
Langres is a cheese milk from cows not pasteurized . It is cylindrical in shape and weighs around 180 grams . Its fat content is 45%. It is covered by a bark of white mold penicillium candidum . The center paste is smooth, creamy in color, and crumbles quite easily. It gives off a penetrating, intense odor , but less strong than the époisses . The flavor is pronounced, it melts on the palate, resulting slightly salty, but it is less spicy than the Époisses de Bourgogne , its local competitor.
It is best consumed between May and August after five weeks of maturation, but it is also excellent from March to December. This cheese is never turned during its aging, so it sinks a bit until a hole called “fountain” ( fontaine, curvette ) forms in the center , which is its most particular feature. From this characteristic derives a particular way of drinking it, which is pouring champagne or marc de Bourgogne into the hole , which allows it to be savored as some English do with stilton and port . It can be taken simply with crackers and fruit . Paired with white wine like Marc de Bourgogne ,Mercurey , Nuits-Saint-Georges ) or red ( Médoc , Mercurey , Nuits-Saint-Georges ; full-bodied reds from Bordeaux or Burgundy ); Andre Jacquart NV Cuvee Grand Cru , Cabernet Merlot , Red Backsberg Estate 1999 ; Sancerre , port or sherry .
