Sainte-Maure de Touraine AOP

Geographical area




• • France
•   •• Centre

Type




• • soft (Over 50% humidity)
• • semi-mature (5 weeks)
• • P.M.C.N - smear-ripened
• • double fat
• • farm
• • industrial

Flavour




• • weak
• • gentle, soft
• • distinct, characteristic
• • salty
• • sour

Aroma




• • walnut

Use in cooking




• • vegetable salad

The combination with alcohol




• • white local wine
• • red local wine

The Sainte-Maure de Touraine PDO is a soft-paste cheese, uncooked, produced with raw and whole goat's milk from breeds located in the pastures and alpine areas surrounding the Massif de Sancy.
The production area of Sainte-Maure de Touraine PDO covers the department of Indre-et-Loire and some neighbouring areas in the departments of Loir-et-Cher, Indre, Vienne in the Centre and Poitou-Charantes regions.
Many documents of different periods confirm the long tradition which brought to the quality and fame of Sainte-Maure de Touraine PDO. The farming of goats and the production of cheese in the Touraine region go back to the Carolingian period (8th and 9th century), as confirmed by the historic archive of the Indre-et-Loire department.

Description

Sainte-Maure de Touraine PDO is shaped like a truncated cone and measures from 16 cm to 18 cm of height, the largest diameter is of 5.5. cm, whilst the smallest is of 4.5 cm. It weighs about 250 gr. It has a flowered rind's surface in a colour spanning from light grey to cornflower-blue/grey. It features a smooth paste, velvety and fondant, which becomes drier and more friable with ripening. The taste of goat's milk is delicate with a slight aftertaste of mushrooms.

Cooking

Sainte-Maure de Touraine PDO is conserved in the least cold department of the refrigerator, wrapped in its package paper or in a foil. Before eating it, it is suggested to leave it at room temperature for about one hour. Sainte-Maure de Touraine PDO is often eaten at the end of a meal. Cut in small slices, it can be served as aperitif, but it can be also used as an ingredient to prepare quiches. It is ideal with the wines produced in the region, light and fruity red wines like Bourgueil, Chinon, Gamay or Cabernet d'Anjou or a dry white wine like Touraine.

Composition of cheese




• • goat's milk
• • rennet of animal origin
• • food ash

Certification

PDO (Protected Designation of Origin)(ES). Protected designation of origińe (PDO) stands for a product for which the principal steps for production are done following a well-established technique within the same geographical area, which gives the product its characteristics. Year of registration 2003

AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlée)(Fr). Year of registration 1990

Organic production

  Partial

Vegetarian

  No

Dietary product

  No

NUTRITIONAL VALUE

Calories

   274 kcal per 100 gr.

Protein

   18 gr. per 100 gr.

Fats

   22 gr. per 100 gr.

Fat in dry matter

   45 %

Carbohydrates

   1 gr. per 100 gr.

Saturated acids

   15 gr. per 100 gr.

Statistics

20,7 -  Individual visits per month (average)
1160 -  All individual visits
12 12 2016 -  Date of publication of this article