Pélardon
AOP📍 Occitanie · Gard
Small goat cheese from the Cévennes with a thin rind.
The cheese
A small round goat's cheese of about 60 g, AOP Pélardon is a specialty of southern France (Cévennes, Gard, Hérault, Lozère, Aude). Made from raw milk of Alpine, Saanen or mixed goats, it is recognizable by its thin white-to-pale-yellow rind (sometimes slightly bluish with age) and its supple white paste with aromas of goat milk, hazelnut, flowers and Mediterranean herbs (garrigue). A minimum of eleven days of ageing suffices for a fresh, soft version; a few more weeks bring more goaty, typed flavours. The name is said to come from the Occitan "pebrada" (pepper), referring to the peppery edge the cheese gains with age. Enjoy on country bread with a drizzle of honey, a Clairette du Languedoc or a white Saint-Chinian.