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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from France, around Charolles

Charolais PDOCharolais

Raw whole goat milk is seeded with whey from the last batch, set with a little rennet at no more than 25 °C and left 18 to 36 hours to sour into a firm lactic curd. The uncut curd is ladled into tall moulds, drained, dry-salted and ripened at least 16 days into a large barrel-shaped cheese covered mainly in Geotrichum. Made in 7 steps over 22 days – 23 days. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 16 days (Ministère de l'agriculture 2014) and runs at 8–15 °C (Ministère de l'agriculture 2014). Salt is 1.5–2.5 % (Ministère de l'agriculture 2014). Lactic bacteria carried over in whey from the previous Charolais batch and Geotrichum, the main rind flora do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 16 daysSet[cdc-charo2014]Ripen
Temperature8–15 °CSet[cdc-charo2014]Ripen
Salt1.5–2.5 %Set[cdc-charo2014]Drain and dry-salt
AciditypH 4.2–4.5Set[cdc-charo2014]Let the milk sour into curd

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe. Each ripened cheese weighs 250–310 g, 60–70 mm across at mid-height and 70–85 mm high.
Raw whole goat milk · From Alpine and/or Saanen goats; only filtered and warmed to 25 °C at most[cdc-charo2014]
Goat whey from the farm's own earlier batch · The lactic starter; commercial cultures from the group's culture bank only to fix a problem[cdc-charo2014]
At most 30 ml per 100 L of milkRennet (250 mg chymosin per litre at most)[cdc-charo2014]
Dry salt · On both faces before unmoulding; final salt 1.5–2.5% of the cheese[cdc-charo2014]
Starterwhey from the previous batch (backslop), plus a small dose of rennet

Total time across the recorded steps: 22 days – 23 days

Start
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8–12 °C

What changes: Starting material: raw goat milk, held cool but not cold before making

Step 1 of 7
Pre-ripen the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
8–12 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Geotrichum
Geotrichum covers
Penicillium may

Farms make cheese every day. Dairies may collect four milkings over 48 h at most.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

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

Charolais is a lactic goat cheese like those of the Loire, but much taller and heavier, so it needs at least two refills of the mould and a longer ripening of 16 days. The starter is whey kept from the farm's own earlier batch.

Milk
Raw whole goat milk from Alpine and Saanen goats fed on grass and hay
Curd
Lactic curd, set 18–36 h at 18–25 °C with whey from the last batch
Ripening
At least 16 days after renneting
Size
250–310 g; 60–70 mm across at mid-height, 70–85 mm high

Related ferments

Safety

This is a raw-milk soft cheese. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat raw-milk cheeses other than hard cooked ones, because of Listeria, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin E. coli. Cooking the cheese removes the risk.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli (risks ANSES names for raw-milk cheeses).

History and sources

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

Goat keeping was widespread in Saône-et-Loire at the end of the 19th century, with 40,000 goats in 1892. The cheese was made by farm women as a side line to beef cattle; its size and good keeping made it popular with miners who did seasonal farm work in the 1950s. Collectors called coquetiers sold it on to Lyon and Roanne, and from the 1970s it reached Paris. It became an appellation in 2010.

  1. [cdc-charo2014] Ministère de l'agriculture, Cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine « Charolais » associé à l'avis n°AGRT1415063V (in force since Regulation (EU) 674/2014)spec
  2. [inao-charo] INAO, product page « Charolais » (AOP)gov
  3. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov