Region : Champagne-Ardenne, France
Milk : Raw cow milk
Type : Washed rind cheese
Weight : 250 g
Fat : 26 %
Period of maturation : Minimum 17 days
Tasting advice
Langres is usually enjoyed at the end of a meal. It may also be used to prepare hot dishes.
Wine pairing
Any full-bodied red wine will make a pleasant pair with Langres, as will Marc de Bourgogne and Champagne.
Appearance : Light yellow to brown-red rind, with a cavity, or “fountain”, on the top side of the cheese.
Texture : Supple paste as the cheese is fully matured.
Smell : Penetrating, sharp and intense smell
Taste : Peculiar, unique flavor, pleasantly strong but not overly pungent.
History
Langres came to attention in the middle of the 18th century, in a song written by Langres’s Dominican Prior. One century later, a reference book on cheese making mentions the “cheese from Langres”.
Back then, it is mainly made by the farmers themselves, for their own consumption and occasionally for sale at the local markets. As more and more people fall for its unique taste, the trade of cheese from Langres starts to flourish: Langres cheesemongers buy unripened cheese from the farmers, take care themselves of the maturation of the cheese, and then ship their production all the way to Paris and occasionally to Geneva.
Fabrication
Sylvain manufactures his Langres exclusively with cow's milk. He adds the rennet to the milk from the milking, then the mixture is curdled. Once curdled, the cheese is moulded. Sylvain then takes care to drain the curd for at least 24 hours.
The curd is then removed from the mould, dry salted and dried on a rack. During maturing, the cheese is washed by successive rubbing in the cellar for a minimum of 15 days for the small format and 21 days for the large format.
This hollow, so representative in Langres, is due to the fact that during maturing, the cheese is turned over only once: a hollow is formed on the cheese under the pressure of gravity.
The Langres fountain is filled with champagne and then the cheese is matured for another 2 days to allow the aromas to blend together for the best.
