Chevrotin - a little known gem
Chevrotin is a soft goat’s cheese produced in Haute-Savoie (Upper Savoy) and is made from filtered, unpasteurized goat’s milk. It has been produced since the 17th century in the Alpine foothills of the Savoyard Chablais, Bauges and Aravis ranges. The mountain landscape is harsh for livestock but the tough and agile goats cope well with steep gradients, a damp climate and a thin limestone based soil that supports a limited amount of vegetation. The goats are able to move around with the same sure-footedness as their wild cousins, the chamois who live on the nearby peaks.
The cheese is a fresh one, with only a brief maturation period. Production tends to be a small-scale artisanal process. As a minimum, it needs three weeks to ripen: this takes place on pine timber shelves, and during ripening time each cheese is turned and washed with brine three times per week.
A cheese takes the form of a flattened cylinder, with a 9-12cm diameter and a 3-4cm thickness. It generally weighs 250-350g. Chevrotin features a “fine croûte blanche rosée“ (thin, white-pink crust) coating of soft reddish-brown rind, similar to better known cheeses such as Munster. It appears similar to Reblochon which is made in the same regions, applying similar processes, but which is produced lower down the valleys using cow’s milk.
The cheese has a full flavour with an aromatic sourness reminiscent of the wild herbs included in the diet of the mountain goats. Chevrotin is particularly suitable for eating with bread at breakfast but also deserves a prominent place on the cheese-board at the end of a main meal. The best season during which to eat chevrotin is generally between May and September, approximately five weeks after manufacture. During the winter months the goats are housed in sheds and their diet of hay doesn’t produce the subtle herb-based flavour for which Chevrotin is valued.
Chevron has enjoyed AOC (Appellation d’origine controlée) status since 2002. This means that its name is protected and only goat’s cheese produced in this corner of the French Alps can use the name.