The Cazelle de St. Affrique is a wonderful bloomy rind sheep's milk cheese that while similar in texture to the brie style cheeses you may be used to it has a complexity and depth of flavor that you could not imagine coming from a little 3oz piece of cheese...
The name is actually pretty interesting. Cazelle is actually a word to describe a small stone structure used to house hay or even shepherds and sheep themselves. These structures were abundant in the area in times past. St. Affrique is the area where the cheese is made.
The Cazelle is produced by Herve Mons. What Herve Mons has done is build a business by taking very young cheeses from small cheesemakers in the region around Aveyron and aging them to perfection. In the case of the Cazelle, he takes the cheese when it is around 10 days old and makes sure that the cheese ripens to where it needs to be. Affinage is a very subtle yet dynamic art. So many things go into aging and developing flavors of cheese, be it molds or bacteria, making sure the cheese is flipped and/or washed or maintaining proper temperature and humidity. Herve Mons takes what the cheesemakers provide him and helps to create a unique, superior finished product. Any cheeses that we sell in our case that have "Herve Mons" on the label are bound to be phenomenal, just like the Cazelle.
No comments:
Post a Comment