Chevrotin
Encyclopedia
Chevrotin is a soft goat’s milk based cheese produced in Haute-Savoie / Upper Savoy
(now
in eastern France
). Since 2002 it has enjoyed an AOC
designation.
of the Savoyard Chablais
, Bauges
and Aravis districts. The landscape presents difficulties to agriculture, with steep gradients, a damp climate and a thin limestone
based soil that supports a restricted vegetation. The only domesticated animals that can feed here are goats: these are also able to move around with the same surefootedness as the chamois
who live nearer the mountain peaks.
Chevrotin is made from filtered but unpasteurized goat’s milk.
The cheese is a fresh one, with only a brief maturation period. Production tends to be a small-scale artisanal process. At 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.
. Chevrotin appears similar to Reblochon
which is made in the same regions of Savoy, applying similar processes, but which is produced lower down the valleys using cow’s milk.
(During the winter months the goats are housed in sheds and their diet of hay does not produce the subtle herb based flavour for which enthusiasts value chevrotin.)
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...
(now
Treaty of Turin
The Treaty of Turin concluded on March 24, 1860 is the instrument by which the Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice were annexed to France.-Background:...
in eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
). Since 2002 it has enjoyed an AOC
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
designation.
Production
Chevrotin has been produced since the 17th century in the Alpine foothillsFrench Prealps
The French Prealps are a group of subalpine mountain ranges of medium elevation located immediately west of the French Alps. They roughly stretch from Lake Geneva southwest to the Isère and Drôme Rivers; east to a line running from Chamonix, to Albertville, to Grenoble, to Gap, to Barcelonette;...
of the Savoyard Chablais
Chablais
Chablais was a province of the Duchy of Savoy. Its capital was Thonon-les-Bains.This region is currently divided into three territories, the Chablais savoyard, the Chablais valaisan, and the Chablais vaudois, and is now split across two countries: France and Switzerland...
, Bauges
Bauges
The Bauges Mountains is a mountain range in eastern France, stretching from the city of Annecy to the city of Chambéry, which is part of the French Prealps.- Major peaks :The Bauges have 14 summits above :...
and Aravis districts. The landscape presents difficulties to agriculture, with steep gradients, a damp climate and a thin limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
based soil that supports a restricted vegetation. The only domesticated animals that can feed here are goats: these are also able to move around with the same surefootedness as the chamois
Chamois
The chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra, is a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand...
who live nearer the mountain peaks.
Chevrotin is made from filtered but unpasteurized goat’s milk.
The cheese is a fresh one, with only a brief maturation period. Production tends to be a small-scale artisanal process. At 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
Brining
In cooking, brining is a process similar to marination in which meat is soaked in brine before cooking.Brining makes cooked meat moister by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking, via the process of osmosis, and by allowing the cells to hold on to the water while they are cooked,...
three times per week.
How it looks
A cheese takes the form of a flattened cylinder, with a diameter of 9 – 12 cm and a thickness of 3 – 4½ cm. It generally weighs 250 - 350 g. Chevrotin features a “fine croûte blanche rosée“ coating of soft reddish-brown, not unlike the rind of such better known cheeses as MunsterMunster (cheese)
Munster or Munster-géromé, is a strong tasting, soft cheese made mainly from milk from the Vosges, between Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comté in France....
. Chevrotin appears similar to Reblochon
Reblochon
Reblochon is a French cheese from the Alps region of Haute-Savoie and has been granted the AOC title. Reblochon was first produced in the Thônes and Arly valleys, in the Aravis massif. Thônes remains the centre of Reblochon production; the cheeses are still made in the local cooperatives. Until...
which is made in the same regions of Savoy, applying similar processes, but which is produced lower down the valleys using cow’s milk.
How it tastes
The cheese has a full flavour with an aromatic sourness reminiscent of the wild herbs included in the spring and summer diets of the mountain goats. Chevrotin is particularly suitable for eating with bread at breakfast, and 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, but it can be enjoyed any time between April and November.(During the winter months the goats are housed in sheds and their diet of hay does not produce the subtle herb based flavour for which enthusiasts value chevrotin.)