Saulnois
France
Saulnois originates from an area the northeast of France known as Alsace-Lorraine. It is a pressed, semi-cooked cows' milk cheese which is matured in plum brandy for a minimum of ten weeks.
Once known for salt production the Alsace-Lorraine region is famous for its quiche Lorraine but Alsace also produces has extraordinarily rich milk making the region famous for cheese making and producing Brandy from the abundance of fresh fruit.
The Mirabelle plum, a small golden fruit about the size of a large cherry tomato, can be eaten fresh or made into jam, but brandy is its best use. This semi-firm, milky white cheese has a thin and textured rind that has been matured in Marc De Mirabelle Plum Brandy from the same region.
There is a slight fruit and nut flavors within the cheese but its also slightly sharp and melts in your mouth. The semi-firm interior smells of warm melted butter and cheesecake. Saulnois is silky when shaved with a cheese plane, becoming creamy if you let it warm on your tongue and then the salt emerges.
The cheese is delicate and could easily be overpowered so keep the accompaniments light; simply crackers, baguette or with fruits and nuts. Saulnois melts well, and would be a great choice for potato gratin.
The cheese comes to us from Rodolphe Le Meunier, an affineur (expert cheese ager) in the Loire Valley. Le Meunier scours the French countryside for artisan producers, like the tiny creamery that makes Saulnois, and then ages their products in his cellars and handles the export.
Produced with pasteurized milk and matured for about a year, a wheel of Saulnois weighs roughly 12 pounds and stands about 3 inches tall. The rind is thin and clean, with just a few dots of blue-gray mold.
| Milk | Cow |
|---|---|
| Texture | Semi-Firm |
| Country | France |
| Pronunciation | sal-nu-wa |
