Pelardon des Cévennes AOP - The Cheese Called Pelardon des Cévennes in French Cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

   
 

Pelardon des Cévennes AOP
Photograph courtesy of La Fromagerie des Cevennes.
  
Pelardon or Pelardon des Cévennes AOP

  
These are tiny cheeses; a Pelardon cheese rarely weighs over 60 grams (2 ounces); this is a 28% fat, sharp-tasting goat's cheese made with unpasteurized milk; a single cheese rarely weighs over 60 grams (2 oz). When this cheese is sold after just 10 or 12 days of aging, it is a very mild cheese and will often be served warm with a salad; it's the older cheeses that have a bite that cheese lovers look for. The cheese has an AOP that guarantees that whoever makes the cheese it will be made in precisely the same way. Despite that, there are differences in the taste among the different producers; the taste is affected by the grasses, plants, and chestnuts that the goats find and eat in particular areas.

The cheese is made in and around the two tiny villages of Barre de Cévennes and Pompidou in the southeast of the department of Lozère in the region of Occitanie.   fI you are visiting this area of the Cévennes, then consider trying their cheese with their local merlot red wine, a Vin IGP de Pays des Cévennes.
   

Members of the production team.
Photograph courtesy of Isabelle Blanchemain
www.flickr.com/photos/isasza/33237551871/

  
The producers claim that their cheese has a two-thousand-year-old history that began when it was very much in demand in Rome, and Pliny does document a cheese from the same area. If today’s Pelardon is the same cheese that was ordered by Romans, I do not know. Still, in the 18th century, today’s cheese could be identified with the name Peraldou, and that eventually became Pelardon. 
   

The Pelardon cheese.
Photograph courtesy of the Syndicat des Producteurs de Pélardon

   

The department of Lozère, where Pelardon is produced, is beautiful and the place to go for visitors who want France without the hordes of tourists. Lozère also has less than 80,000 inhabitants; that's less than 15 people per square kilometer (6 people per square mile).  

 

The Cévennes is also home to other highly rated food products, including the Oignon Doux des Cévennes AOP, the sweet onion of the Cevennes, the Reinette du Vigan apples, and the Belles de Bancels potatoes.

   

Pelardon des Cévennes on French menus: 
   
Médaillon de Veau, Sauce au Pélardon des Cévennes – An oval or round escalope, a medallion, of veal served with a Pélardon des Cévennes cheese sauce.
 
Pélardon des Cévennes Grillé sur Lit de Roquette et Sorbet Yaourt au Lait de Brebis  - The Pélardon des Cévennes cheese grilled and served on a bed of rocket salad greens with a sorbet made of sheep’s milk yogurt.
  

A Pélardon des Cévennes tart fine.
The tart is made with a base of puff pastry with tomatoes, the Pélardon des Cévennes cheese, and the AOP sweet onions of the Cevennes.
Photograph courtesy of the Syndicat des Producteurs de Pélardon

 
Ravioles au Pélardon des Cévennes sur un Crémeux de Champignons au Bouillon de Poule – Ravioli filled with Pélardon des Cévennes cheese accompanied by a creamy mushroom sauce prepared in a light chicken broth.
   
Salade du Jardin et son Aumônière de Pélardon Rôti au Miel des Cévennes  - A garden salad served with a pouch of Pélardon des Cévennes cheese roasted with honey from the Cevennes.
   
Salade Verte, Pélardon des Cévennes Chaud sur Pain de Campagne  - A green salad served with hot  Pélardon des Cévennes cheese on country bread.
   

Follow the sign to the village of
Sainte Croix Vallée Française
On the first Sunday in May, every year, the Fête du Pélardon welcomes visitors in the village of Sainte Croix Vallée Française.
Photograph courtesy of the village of Sainte Croix Vallee Francaise.

   
Tarte Fine aux Oignons Doux des Cévennes et Pélardon Gratiné  - A tart made with a flat disk of puff pastry, and the sweet Cevennes AOP onions browned under the grill with the Pélardon des Cévennes cheese.
   
For the link to buying cheese in France and taking cheese home click here.

Traveling in Lozere.

Farming and tourism are the main occupations in Lozere. There is skiing in the winter, and in the summer, kayaking, hiking, and fishing. The rivers Lot, Tarn, Truyere, Allier Altier, Gardons, and Cevennes, run through the department and have made Lozere an important center for fishing enthusiasts from all over France and beyond. These rivers have many different fish, but the most important is the brown trout.  In French, that is the truite fario, truite commune, or truite de rivière.



Brown trout 2.5 kg.(5.5 lbs).
Photograph courtesy of   Michael Meiters
www.flickr.com/photos/psychofreakx3/5391479746/

Brown trout in the languages of France neighbors:
(Catalan - truita de mar), (Dutch - zeeforel), (German – meerforelle), (Italian  - trota fario), (Spanish - trucha común, trucha marrón, trucha reo).

Learning about Lozere

To know more about the department of Lozere's history, visit their small museum:  Le Musée des Vallées Cévenoles, the museum of the Cévenole valleys. The museum is in the village of Saint Jean du Gard, 89 km  (56 miles) from Mende, the prefecture.

For more about the Cevennes look at their English language website:

http://www.cevennes-tourisme.fr/uk/

A special part of the history of Lozere.

The department is internationally recognized for the small town of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. Through its Protestant Pastor, this whole town worked together and saved thousands of Jews in WWII. Many were smuggled into neutral Switzerland, and many others were hidden throughout the entire war in private homes and the nearby forests. The whole village was recognized as among the Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in Israel and in 2004 by the French President Jacques Chirac. The town is 130 km (81 miles) from Mende, the Prefecture, the regional capital. The French language website of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon can be well understood using Google or Bing translate: http://www.ville-lechambonsurlignon.fr/


The church in Chambon-sur-Lignon
Photograph courtesy of Suzanne.
www.flickr.com/photos/sweetpeasue/6104529370/

Where is Lozere

Lozère is the least populated a department in France.  It is in the region of Occitanie bordering the department of Gard also in Occitanie and the departments of  Ardeche, Cantal, and Haute-Loire in the Auvergne-Rhone Alps; Avignon is less than one hour by car.

This Lozere French language website can be easily understood with the Google or Bing translating apps:  http://www.lozere-tourisme.com/


--------------------------------

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com


Copyright 2010, 2015, 2017, 2020
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Radis du Daikon – The Daikon, Japanese or Chinese radish. Daikon on French Menus.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

The daikon radish.
Photograph courtesy of Dom Pates
https://www.flickr.com/photos/globalismpictures/5846021312/
  

  Daikon or Radis du Daikon 
    
The Daikon, Japanese or Chinese radish, sometimes called the white radish or giant radish. Daikon is a mild radish unless it is pickled to make it spicy; it served both fresh and cooked.   French chefs use the daikon like other radishes as well as creating recipes that emphasize the daikon’s different texture. The cresson daikon, daikon cress, the tasty young daikon shoots are also added to salads.
 
These radishes originated in China, and there are a number of varieties with the most popular looking somewhat like a large white carrot.
  
A cross section of a daikon radish.
Photograph courtesy of cynren
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cynren/6853857285/
   
The daikon radish on French menus:

Rougets Barbet Croustillants, Daikon et Agrumes à la Coriandre – Crisply fried red mullet, the fish, served with daikon radish and citrus fruits flavored with coriander.
   
Pickled daikon and carrots.
Photograph courtesy of Jessica Rossi
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jesswebb/3008589983/
  
Carpaccio de Filet Angus au Poivre avec sa Choucroute de Daikon et Aïoli – Carpaccio made from slices of a fillet, the US tenderloin, of peppered Angus beef served with a choucroute made with pickled daikon flavored with aioli. (The original choucroute is an Alsatian version of the German saukraut and is made with pickled cabbage; here thinly sliced daikon will have been pickled to create the daikon choucroute).
  
Truite Saumonée Confite Basse Température, Mousseline de Daïkon au Chèvre Frais, Sel de Kombu - Salmon trout cooked slowly at a low temperature and served with a  very light moose made with daikon and fresh goat’s cheese and a sea salt infused with kombu seaweed.
  
A large size daikon.
Photograph courtesy of rochelle hartman
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tinfoilraccoon/5723187322/

Le Poulpe, Pickles d'Oignons, Radis Daikon et Jus et Boudin Basque - Octopus served with pickled onions and daikon with a natural gravy along with spicy Basque pork sausages.

Poulet Grillé, Concombre, Laitue, Carottes Et Daikons Marinés, Fines Herbes – Grilled chicken accompanied by carrots, lettuce, carrots and marinated daikon flavored with France’s most favored herb group Les Fine Herbes.
   
A daikon choucroute.
Photograph courtesy of George Grinsted
https://www.flickr.com/photos/imgeorge/9363540538/
 
Noix De Saint Jacques, Betterave, Daikon - The meat of the king scallop served with beetroot and daikon.
 
Agneau Fermier, Salsifis, Daïkon Aigre Doux,  Ail Noir – Farm raised lamb served with salsify, (the oyster plant),  sweet and sour pickled daikon and black garlic.
    
Daikon in the languages of France’s neighbors:
  
(Catalan -  daikon, rave del Japó), (Dutch - daikon ), (German - daikon-rettich, Japanischer riesenrettich), (Italian -  daikon radice), (Spanish - rábano Japonés, rábano Chino).

Connected Posts:
   
Ail - Garlic. Garlic in French Cuisine.
   
Aioli in French Cuisine. Aioli, France's Much Loved Garlicky Mayonnaise on French Menus. Enjoying Le Grand Aioli in France.
 
Algue or Algue de Mer Seaweed, Edible Seaweed. Algue or Algue de Mer on French Menus.

Carottes - Carrots in French Cuisine.

Carpaccio on French Menus.
    
Choucroute Garnie. Famous Dishes of France’s Alsace Region..
 
Coquilles Saint-Jacques and the Vanneaux or Pétoncle. The King Scallop and the Queen Scallop. The Coquilles Saint-Jacques, and the Vanneaux or Pétoncle in French Cuisine.
 
Filet Mignon in France and Filet de Bœuf in French Cuisine.
  
Les Fine Herbes; the Most Important Herb Group in French Cuisine.
 
Rouget Barbet and Rougets de Roche, Red Mullet and Striped Red Mullet, the Fish on French Menus.
 
Saumon, Saumon Atlantique - Salmon. Atlantic Salmon is the Salmon on Nearly all French Menu.
 
Truite - Trout, the Fish. Trout on French Menus

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Copyright 2010, 2017
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Murol, Murol du Grand Bérioux, and the Murolait. No AOP but Still Among the Tastiest Cheeses in France.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 
The Murol Cheese
Photograph courtesy of the Fromagerie de Grand-Murols.
 
The names above are used for this mild, creamy, 22.7% fat yellow cow’s milk cheese made from pasteurized cow’s milk; the cheese is matured for a minimum of five weeks before being sold. 

The cheeses were created in the 1930s by a local cheese maker, Jules Bérioux; his name is still on many of the labels; he just added Grand to his name and made the cheese Murol du Grand Bérioux. Murol is considered a relatively new cheese despite the cheese being created over 70 years ago.  From my experience, the French feel that all cheeses under 200 years old are new.
   

A wedge cut from the Murol cheese.
Photograph courtesy of the Fromagerie  de Grand-Murols.
  
The Murol cheese is easily identified by the hole in its center, while the cheese itself is made in discs of 10- 12 cm ( 4” to 4.7”) in diameter, weighing an average of 450 grams (1 lb). The hole that is cut from the center speeds the affinage, the maturing process; nothing is wasted and so this plug of cheese, the part cut from the center, is sold separately as a cheese called Murolait or Trou de Murol; a small 50-gram cheese. Any difference in the taste of these two cheeses is solely the result of the way they mature.

The Murol village, which gave its name to the cheese, is taken from the area’s historical local Lords, the Murols. They once owned the semi-destroyed castle that still stands near Lac Chambon.   If you are visiting the area, the Lords of Murol’s castle comes to life again every summer with re-enactments of 13th-century life in its courtyards.
   

Murol Castle
Photograph courtesy of iha.com
 
The cheese is produced in and around the villages of Murol and Chambon sur Lac, in the department of Puy de Dôme in the Auvergne. These two villages are next to the incredibly beautiful Lake Chambon. 

Lake Chambon is an artificial lake constructed as part of the Éguzon hydroelectric dam on the Creuse River. When the dam opened in 1926, it was the largest hydroelectric dam in Europe. The lake is now a major summer water sports center with beaches, yachts, pedalos, and water skiing. Anglers can fish in the lake, which has an area of 312 hectares (1.2 square miles).
   
Lake Chambon
Photograph courtesy of Auvergne Tourism

Cheeses of the area.
  
Just 5 km (3 miles) away from the lake is the small town of Saint Nectaire so famous for its cow's milk Saint Nectaire  AOP cheese; Saint Nectaire was known as a spa in Roman times.  Then, 60 km (38 miles) away is the town of Riom-ès-Montagnes, the center for the production of Bleu d'Auvergne AOP, the mild, blue cow's milk cheese.  Riom-ès-Montagnes is also a major center for the gentian plant used for homeopathic medicines and France's popular liquor called Suze.

Altogether, in the region of the Auvergne, there are five AOP cow's milk cheeses: Saint Nectaire AOP, Bleu d’Auvergne, Cantal AOP,  Fourme de Ambert AOP, and Salers AOP.  In 1-1-2016, the region of the Auvergne was joined with the region of the Rhône-Alpes and became part of the administrative region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.  Together, they have 15 or 16 AOP cheeses and at least another 40 delicious cheeses without any suffixes.  Among these are cheeses like the Murol which are known and appreciated all over France.  For more about buying cheese in France and taking it home click here.
   
Chambon-sur-Lac by Marc Chagall
Photograph courtesy of New Zealand Fine Prints.
 
Chambon-sur-Lac is close to the heart of the Regional Natural Volcano Park of the Auvergne. Close by is the highest dormant volcano in France: the Puy de Sancy, 1,886 meters (1,17 miles) in height. This huge park comprises outstanding landscapes, fauna, and flora and some 80 extinct Volcanoes.
   
An extinct volcano in the park.
Photograph courtesy of Auvergne Tourism

The park’s English language website is:

http://www.auvergne-tourism.com/regional-nature-parks/the-auvergne-volcanoes-park-279-2.html
          
Connected Posts:
 
AOC and AOP on France's Foods and Wine labels? Why did the AOC become an AOP?

Bleu d'Auvergne AOP, - The Bleu d'Auvergne French Blue Cheese. Bleu d'Auvergne in French Cuisine.
 
Buying Cheese in France. Bringing French Cheese Home and a Lexicon for buying French Cheese.
 
Cantal and Salers; Two of the Best Cheeses From the Auvergne, France.
 
Fourme d'Ambert AOP - One of the Auvergne's Very Special cheeses.
 
France’s Mainland Regions and Their Borders Have Changed. Keep This List With Your GPS and Map.

Saint Nectaire Fromage - Saint Nectaire Cheese. Saint Nectaire is an AOP Cow's Milk Cheese from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
        

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2017, 2024.


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