FORMAGGIO.IT

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Pelardon

Name of Group of Producers

Pélardon is a soft cheese made from raw goats' milk in cylinders with rounded edges, weighing over 60 grams, 60 to 70 mm in diameter and 22 to 27 mm high. It contains a minimum of 40 grams of dry matter per 100 grams of cheese, and 45 grams of fat per 100 grams when completely dry.

It has a thin rind, covered partially or totally with a pale yellow, white or blue mould-type down.

The cheese itself is ivory-white in colour, even in texture and smooth when cut, though can become crumbly if matured for a lengthy period.

The geographical area spans part of four departments: Aude, Gard, Hérault and Lozère, and one commune of Tarn. The area comprises: to the north, the Cevenne valleys, from the edge of the Causse mountains to the vine-growing plains; to the east and the centre, the limestone mountains of the Gard and Herault scrubland; to the west, the upper valleys of the Lergue, Orb, and Jaur rivers, and the south face of the Montagne Noire mountain, located in a Mediterranean climate; lastly, to the south, the heart of the Hautes Corbières mountains bordered in the south by the Grau de Maury.

The origins of Pélardon are ancient; the most likely origin of the name is the one given by the naturalist, Pliny, who mentions .Péraldou., a cheese highly valued for its unique flavour. The name seems to derive from .pèbre., which means pepper, due to its pungent taste. .Pélardon., .Péraldou. or .Pélardou. cheese is also described in Abbé Boissier de Sauvages' Languedoc/French dictionary of 1756, by Frédéric Mistral, the renowned provençal poet, and in the Arts and Crafts dictionary. Pélardon also features in 19th-century departmental statistics. Throughout the 20th century, the goat stock declined, farms were modernised and developed specialisations, but Pélardon production continued and the cheese was fêted by writers of the region. In the 1970s, Pélardon production was revitalised by the new forms of goat-rearing that emerged.

The milk used must be from herds made up of goats of the Alpine, Saanen, or Rove breeds and their crossbreeds. The goats are kept on a free-range basis.

Pélardon cheese is produced by a process of mainly lactic slow coagulation and natural draining of whole, raw goats' milk which is non-standardised in terms of protein or fat content. The addition of concentrated or powdered milk, colourings or flavourings and the use of ultrafiltration or microfiltration treatments are banned. Milk starters are added to the milk, made from whey from the previous processing. The use of selected commercial starters is permitted only at the beginning of lactation, in cases where production or collection of milk is interrupted. Renneting can either be carried out after each milking, or once a day, using a coagulant. The coagulant dose must be less than 1 ml per 10 litres of milk. Coagulation time must exceed 18 hours, and be sufficient to obtain a pH of less than or equal to 4,5. The fresh curd is then manually put through a cheese strainer and into moulds, for which a distributor may be used. Only milk-collecting operators are permitted to use block-moulds. All forms of mechanical mould are banned. In-mould draining occurs naturally and lasts a minimum of 24 hours. During the draining stage a minimum amount of turning must occur. Both sides of the cheese are salted, using only dry, fine or semi-coarse, phosphate-free salt, and at least one side must be salted during draining. Pickling in brine is prohibited. The cheeses are drained for 18 to 24 hours at a temperature of 18 to 22 °C, whereupon they are dried for 24 to 48 hours in a ventilated area, with 65 to 80 % humidity, at a temperature of 12 to 18 °C. The ripening stage takes place at between 8 and 16 °C, with 85 % to 95 % humidity, and cheeses are turned at least every two days. The use of frozen curd and the freezing of the cheeses themselves is banned. Cheese may only be sold under the name of the specific designation after a minimum of 11 days following renneting.