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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from France, Cévennes, Montagne Noire, Hautes Corbières and the garrigues of Gard and Hérault

Pélardon PDOPélardon

Raw whole goat milk is seeded with whey from the last batch and a very small dose of rennet, then left at least 18 hours to sour to pH 4.5 or below. The uncut curd is ladled by hand into moulds, drains on its own, is dry-salted, and ripens at least 11 days into a small soft disc with a thin mould-flecked rind. Made in 7 steps over 17 days – 18 days. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 11 days (Cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine…) and runs at 8–16 °C (Cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine…). Lactococcus lactis, the main acidifying bacterium and Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Geotrichum candidum do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 11 daysSet[cdc-pela2011][inao-pela]Ripen
Temperature8–16 °CSet[cdc-pela2011]Ripen
AciditypH up to 4.5Set[cdc-pela2011]Let the milk sour into curd

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe. Each cheese weighs over 60 g at 11 days, 60–70 mm across and 22–27 mm high.
Raw whole goat milk · From goats that graze open rangeland at least 180–210 days a year; no silage[cdc-pela2011]
Whey from the previous batch · The lactic starter; bought cultures only at the start of lactation, after a break, or for dairies that collect milk[cdc-pela2011]
Less than 1 ml per 10 L of milkRennet[cdc-pela2011]
Dry salt, fine or half-coarse, without phosphates · Brining is banned[cdc-pela2011]
Starterwhey from the previous batch (backslop), with a very small dose of rennet

Total time across the recorded steps: 17 days – 18 days

Start
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4–14 °C

What changes: Starting material: raw whole goat milk from goats that graze garrigue and woodland

Step 1 of 7
Collect the raw milk
Time
up to 2 days
Set
Temperature
4–14 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
L. mesenteroides
Geotrichum candidum
Geotrichum
Moulds

Concentrated or powdered milk, flavourings, colours, ultrafiltration and microfiltration are banned.

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

Pélardon is a slow lactic goat cheese like those of the Loire, but from Mediterranean rangeland, and its starter is always whey from the farm's last batch. Brining, freezing curd and modified-atmosphere packing are banned.

Milk
Raw whole goat milk; goats graze at least 210 days a year (180 above 800 m)
Curd
Slow lactic curd, more than 18 h to pH 4.5 or lower
Ripening
At least 11 days from renneting
Size
Over 60 g at 11 days; 60–70 mm across, 22–27 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

The specification gives Pliny's "Péraldou" as the likeliest origin of the name, said to come from "pèbre", pepper, because of its sharp taste. Abbé Boissier de Sauvages listed "Péraldou" in his Languedoc–French dictionary of 1756. It became an appellation in 2000.

  1. [cdc-pela2011] Cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine « Pélardon », homologated by décret n°2011-1605 of 21 November 2011 (JORF 23 November 2011), Bulletin officiel du ministère de l'agriculturespec
  2. [inao-pela] INAO, product page « Pélardon » (AOP)gov
  3. [penland2021] Penland M. et al. 2021, Linking Pélardon artisanal goat cheese microbial communities to aroma compounds during cheese-making and ripening, International Journal of Food Microbiology 345:109130 (abstract)paper
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov