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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Champagne humide, France

Chaource PDOChaource

Whole cow milk is soured with mesophilic starter and a little animal rennet, then left at least 12 hours to set into a lactic curd. The curd drains without pressing in tall moulds, is dry-salted on the surface and ripens at least 14 days under a white Penicillium rind. Made in 5 steps over 16 days. The longest step, ripen under a white rind, takes at least 14 days (INAO 2013) and runs at 8–14 °C (INAO 2013). Mesophilic lactic acid bacteria and Penicillium candidum (P. camemberti), the dominant white rind mould do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 14 daysSet[chaource-cdc-2013]Ripen under a white rind
Temperature8–14 °CSet[chaource-cdc-2013]Ripen under a white rind
AciditypH up to 6.6 → 4.75Set[chaource-cdc-2013]Rennet and let the curd set slowly
Fully documentedCheese16 daysPDO (AOP, France); appellation d'origine since 1970Family: Bloomy-rind soft cheese family (Camembert de Normandie as template)More bloomy-rind cheesesMore from France

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes temperatures, times and acidity but no amounts. Curd is set in basins of at most 160 litres; a large Chaource weighs 450–700 g and a small one 250–380 g.
Whole cow milk · Fat and protein may not be added or removed; concentrating the milk is banned[chaource-cdc-2013]
Mesophilic lactic starter · The milk must be matured with it before renneting; starter medium may add at most 3 % of the milk volume[chaource-cdc-2013]
Animal rennet[chaource-cdc-2013]
Cultures of yeasts and moulds, calcium chloride[chaource-cdc-2013]
Dry salt · On the surface only[chaource-cdc-2013]
Starter: mesophilic lactic starter; white mould on the rind

Total time across the recorded steps: 16 days

Start
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23–35 °Cshapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria

What changes: Mesophilic starter goes into whole milk and starts to sour it

Step 1 of 5
Mature the milk with starter
Time
Not documented
Temperature
23–35 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Penicillium candidum
Moulds
Geotrichum may

Output: soured milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

mesophilic lactic bacteria start to sour the milk

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Chaource is a lactic-set bloomy cheese. Its curd sets slowly over at least 12 hours, mostly by acid, so the heart stays fine and chalky, unlike Camembert's rennet curd. It is also taller than most bloomy-rind cheeses.

Milk
Whole cow milk with unchanged fat and protein
Ripening
At least 14 days from renneting
Composition
At least 40 % dry matter and at least 48 % fat in dry matter
Size
Large 450–700 g; small 250–380 g

Related ferments

Variants

  • Large format450–700 g, moulds 110–115 mm across.
  • Small format250–380 g, moulds 85–90 mm across.

Safety

The specification bans freezing the milk, curd or fresh cheese and bans storing fresh or ripening cheeses under modified atmosphere.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The specification dates the cheese to farm women of the Chaourçois in the early 19th century; it was described in 1872 in Pourriau's La Laiterie and in 1883 in a guide for Aube farm wives. It has been an appellation d'origine since 1970.

  1. [chaource-cdc-2013] INAO 2013, Cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine « Chaource », homologated by décret n° 2013-1063 of 25 November 2013, Bulletin officiel du Ministère de l'agriculture n° 48-2013spec
  2. [inao-chaource] INAO, product page « Chaource » (AOP since 1970, two formats, aromas at 14 days)gov
  3. [usda-hb54] Sanders G.P. 1953, Cheese varieties and descriptions, USDA Agriculture Handbook 54archive