Area: Center, France
Milk: raw goat’s milk
Type: soft bloomy rind cheese
Weight: 250 g
Fat: 23 %
Maturing time: 20 to 30 days
Tasting advice
Its taste is light and liked in salads, cut in little cubes served with walnut oil or on hot thin toasts.
Wine-pairing
Only a good dry and fruity white wine highlights the Pouligny Saint Pierre’s strong taste.
« Vallées et Coteaux du Cher » wines will permit a beautiful harmony. It also matches very well with a fruity Touraine or Sauvignon du Haut Poitou wine.
Appearance: crests of the pyramid are regular, whereas its thin rind is covered by white and bluish superficial molds.
Texture: firm but flexible.
Sense of smell: light goat smell.
Taste: strong local flavor, extensive range of tastes.
History
During the 18th century, wooden and rye straw cheese strainers were used to give it its characteristic form which is differentiated from the other goat cheeses produced in France.
According to the legend, it is the bell tower of their church which has inspired the inhabitants of Pouligny Saint-Pierre the pyramidal form given to the cheese.
The Pouligny Saint Pierre originates from the village of the same name, located in the western part of Berry. In the 19th century, in that region, each farm had a herd of goats.
Women ensured raising goats and the production of Pouligny Saint Pierre. Those cheeses were consumed at the farm or resold on the neighboring markets.
Fabrication
French cheese makers use milk of Alpine, Saanen or Poitevine breed goats. The milk is then put to curdle for at least 18 hours by adding a light quantity of rennet. It is about a slow coagulation which will permit to get a regular and solid curd cheese, essential for a good fabrication.
Then, French makers mould the curd cheese obtained with a ladle, and let the cheese drain during at least 24 hours. After unmolding, the cheese is salt on all its sides, and then put to dry for about 3 days, before being ripened for at least 7 days.
