Cheese type Goat cheese
	Milk Raw goat's milk
Crottin de Chavignol Cheese Description 140 g when fresh, it dries with maturation and is usually sold at no less than 60 g. 4cm in diameter 3cm tall fat content of 45%	Country France
	Areas of production Berry and Perigord
	Other info AOC

Crottin de Chavignol Cheese Fabrication Process

The crottin de Chavignol is produced from the raw milk of an alpine race of goats that is exclusively foundin the appellation area.

The curdling is achieved with natural ferments for 24 to 48 hours before being drained on a cloth. The curd is then manually moulded with a ladle. It is placed in pierced moulds called "faisselle"(cheese drainers). The next step is a delicate one as it will determine the quality of the final product: salting. The ripener will give the final touch to this traditional work. His duty is to ripen the cheese. Two to three times a week, he visits the farms of the AOC area to collect the cheeses.

For 10 days, the cheeses are placed in a cheese ripening cellar at a temperature of 13 to 16ºC, to eliminate the extra moisture. It is at that stage that you will start to see the crottin on the market. The crottin is one of the rare cheeses that can be eaten at various steps of maturation. The cheese continues to mature and the robust taste increases, but is never sour.

Crottin de Chavignol Cheese Inside Out

Appearance	The rind is a made of a white bloom with a bluish hue
Touch	Hard and homogeneous, it can even break after a longer maturation
Taste	Goaty flavor and fresh cream
Labeling	Be sure to read AOC on the label to get the real one

In French, crottin means "horse droppings". But the name is actually taken from a small oil lamp made from burned clay which had the same form.

The first crottin were made by the housewives who got the idea to pour the curded milk in the leg of old trousers that had been tidily closed at the knee level.

In 1829, the cheese took the name of Crottin de Chavignol (Chavignol is the name of the village where it is produced).

In 1976, this small cheese was given the coveted AOC (appelation d'origine controlé - controlled origin appellation)