Les Fromages

FOOD COMMENTATORS AND writers on the South-West seem to give up when they reach the cheese chapter. It is true that in the valleys and plains towards the mouth of the Gironde the only local cheeses you will find will be humble goats’ cheeses and occasionally fresh farmhouse cheeses that neither travel nor keep. None of the big-name cheeses come from these lush arable and wine-growing areas. We have seen that one reason for this is that, away from the mountain pastures, cows were working farm animals and were kept almost exclusively for that purpose. If the peasants wanted cheese they made it from sheep or goats’ milk. Furthermore one litre of goats’ milk makes twice as much cheese as a litre of cows’ milk.