🧀 Chaource

Chaource is a French soft cheese with a protected designation of origin (PDO), made exclusively from whole cow's milk whose composition is not altered. According to the specification, it is a soft cheese with a bloomy rind and a mainly lactic curd; the salted paste contains at least 40% dry matter and at least 48% fat in the dry matter. ³

Look and sizes. The rind is mainly covered with white Penicillium candidum mould; a marbled surface caused by Geotrichum is allowed. The cheese is a cylinder with flat faces in two formats: a large one of 450 to 700 g (mould diameter 110 to 115 mm) and a small one of 250 to 380 g (85 to 90 mm), weights counted from the minimum ripening period. ³

Making. The milk is matured with mesophilic lactic cultures and curdles through the natural acidity of the cultures and animal rennet, in vats of at most 160 litres, for at least 12 hours before moulding. The curd drains naturally, the cheese is salted on the surface with dry salt only and left to dry for at least 24 hours. Ripening lasts at least 14 days from renneting, at least 8 of them at 8 to 14 °C. ³

Taste and texture. The paste is creamy, supple and fairly firm. It ripens from the rind inwards, so a creamy edge contrasts with a fine, slightly grainy heart. The smell is lightly mushroomy, with possible fruity aromas including hazelnut and a light taste of fresh mushroom. ³

Production area. Milk production, cheesemaking and ripening take place in a defined zone of the Aube and Yonne departments. The name has been protected in the EU since 1996. The label must show the name of the appellation and the EU PDO symbol. ³

Why the curd is so slow. Monks spread cheese here in the Middle Ages: their abbeys held the meadows and woods, and many avoided meat. In the 17th and 18th centuries farm women took over, making cheese around heavy daily work. Lactic curd drains slowly without supervision, which suited them, and that rhythm set the cheese's character. Heavy clay soils, unsuited to crops and good for grass, kept cows here. ³

Why two sizes. Fresh cheese was eaten in summer, when it was hard to keep, and aged up to two months when conditions allowed. That habit gave today's two formats, which ripen a little differently. Local cheese merchants called cossoniers sold it across France, and by the early 1960s craft cheesemakers had replaced the farm women. In 2020, 2,496 tonnes were sold, from 59 milk producers. ³⁴

Chaource or Brie, Camembert, Brillat-Savarin? These soft bloomy-rind cheeses are often compared, but each follows its own specification, so compare by process. Chaource is made only from whole cow's milk that is not altered. It curdles slowly, for at least 12 hours in vats of at most 160 litres, drains naturally and is salted on the surface with dry salt only. It ripens at least 14 days from the rind inwards, so a creamy edge contrasts with a fine, slightly grainy heart, and it comes in just two small formats, with a lightly mushroomy smell.

Look for the name Chaource and the EU PDO symbol (protected designation of origin) on the label, which must show the name of the appellation. Check the shape: a cylinder with flat faces, large at 450 to 700 g or small at 250 to 380 g, with a rind mostly covered with white mould and sometimes a marbled surface. Choose a younger piece for a firmer heart. You will find it at a supermarket cheese counter, a delicatessen or a specialist cheese shop.

Why it matters to you. The contrast between edge and heart grows with age: choose a younger cheese for a firmer heart and an older one for more cream. The NHS advises pregnant women to avoid mould-ripened soft cheese unless cooked. ³⁵