Saint-Nectaire (cheese)
The Saint-Nectaire is a French cow's milk cheese , named after the municipality of Saint-Nectaire in the center of Auvergne , about 30 km southwest of the regional capital Clermont-Ferrand . The name of the cheese after the village comes from Henri de la Ferté Senneterre (1600–1681). Today “Saint-Nectaire” is a protected designation of origin; Cheeses with this name may only be produced in 72 localities (52 in the Puy-de-Dôme department and 20 in the Cantal department ).
Saint-Nectaire is made from curdled milk from the Salers cattle breed . The thick milk is pressed at normal temperature in order to separate as much liquid as possible. It is processed into cheese loaves weighing approx. 1.7 kg and matured for 8-10 weeks. The quality also depends on the season. The best time is from May to October, while January and February are more moderate. At the end of the ripening process, the Saint-Nectaire has a yellowish-brownish to dark-gray-blotchy rind, depending on the length of time it has matured, which is hard with cheese that has matured for longer. Under the - edible - rind, the cheese is light yellow and has a firm, but soft and creamy consistency. In terms of taste and smell, the cheese has a very distinctive note that can be described as sweet and is reminiscent of nuts, mushrooms or sugar beets. Depending on the degree of ripeness and brand, this taste varies in strength. In the Auvergne, Saint-Nectaire is one of the milder cheeses, even if it has a much more pronounced taste than Brie or Camembert, for example .
The formation of mold on the bark is characteristic. In contrast to other varieties (such as Camembert and Roquefort ), however, no noble mold is added. Rather, they are natural mold spores that settle in a cave on the bark during ripening, in the form of dark gray spots. At the end of ripening, spots in other colors (white, black, sometimes also red and yellowish) are possible.
Like many cheeses, St. Nectaire is made both industrially and by farms. For production in cheese dairies (“laitier” on the label), pasteurized milk is always used, while farm production (“ Fermier ”) only uses raw milk , see also raw milk cheese . In 2001 the total production of this cheese was around 13,000 tons.
