Picodon
Encyclopedia
Picodon is a goats-milk cheese
made in the region around the Rhône river
in southern France. The name means "spicy" in Occitan.
The cheese itself comes in a number of varieties, each small, flat and circular in shape varying from speckled white to golden in colour. Between 5 and 8 centimetres in diameter and between 1.8 and 2.5 centimetres in height, they range from around 40 to 100 grams. The pâte of the cheese is spicy and unusually dry, whilst retaining a smooth, fine texture.
Whilst young the cheese has a soft white rind and has a gentle, fresh taste. If aged for longer, the cheese can lose half of its weight resulting in a golden rind with a much harder centre and a more concentrated flavour.
, but ideal for goats to feast on the sparse grass and hardy bushes that are scattered along the hillsides.
Picodon is made from milk with only a small quantity of rennet
added before being poured into small moulds dotted with tiny holes. Lactic protein, frozen curd, and concentrated or powdered milk are all prohibited by regulation. The cheese is twice salted using fine, dry salt
. The cheese is left to dry for at least fourteen days, although four weeks is more common.
Cheeses labelled with affinage méthode Dieulefit (after the commune of Dieulefit
) indicates that the affinage included hand-washing the surface of the cheese with water, following which the cheese is left to mature in covered earthenware jars for at least a month.
Production is fermier, artisanal, and industriel, and the final product is a minimum of 45% fat. Picodon is manufactured throughout the year, although fermier production only occurs between spring and autumn. In total 584 tons were produced in 2005.
Manufacture primarily takes place in the departments of Ardèche
and Drôme
, though regulations also permit the canton of Barjac
in Gard
and Valréas
in Vaucluse
.
AOC
status was granted in 1983.
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
made in the region around the Rhône river
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
in southern France. The name means "spicy" in Occitan.
The cheese itself comes in a number of varieties, each small, flat and circular in shape varying from speckled white to golden in colour. Between 5 and 8 centimetres in diameter and between 1.8 and 2.5 centimetres in height, they range from around 40 to 100 grams. The pâte of the cheese is spicy and unusually dry, whilst retaining a smooth, fine texture.
Whilst young the cheese has a soft white rind and has a gentle, fresh taste. If aged for longer, the cheese can lose half of its weight resulting in a golden rind with a much harder centre and a more concentrated flavour.
Varieties
Picodon is manufactured in a number of varieties, each conforming to the AOC regulations. These include:- Picodon de l'Ardèche - (40-60g) the most common variety, with noticeable acidity.
- Picodon de Crest - (60g) made with the highest quality milk giving a stronger flavour.
- Picodon du Dauphiné - generally sold well matured.
- Picodon de Dieulefit - (40-90g) sold in both young and mature varieties.
- Picodon de la Drôme - (45g) low acidity, with both salty and sweet flavours.
- Picodon à l'huile d'olive - marinated in bayBay LaurelThe bay laurel , also known as sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree, or simply laurel, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. It is the source of the bay leaf used in cooking...
and olive oilOlive oilOlive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
.
Manufacture
The lower valley of the Rhône is mostly too dry for the production of wineWine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, but ideal for goats to feast on the sparse grass and hardy bushes that are scattered along the hillsides.
Picodon is made from milk with only a small quantity of rennet
Rennet
Rennet is a complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk, and is often used in the production of cheese. Rennet contains many enzymes, including a proteolytic enzyme that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids and liquid...
added before being poured into small moulds dotted with tiny holes. Lactic protein, frozen curd, and concentrated or powdered milk are all prohibited by regulation. The cheese is twice salted using fine, dry salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
. The cheese is left to dry for at least fourteen days, although four weeks is more common.
Cheeses labelled with affinage méthode Dieulefit (after the commune of Dieulefit
Dieulefit
Dieulefit is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.-Population:...
) indicates that the affinage included hand-washing the surface of the cheese with water, following which the cheese is left to mature in covered earthenware jars for at least a month.
Production is fermier, artisanal, and industriel, and the final product is a minimum of 45% fat. Picodon is manufactured throughout the year, although fermier production only occurs between spring and autumn. In total 584 tons were produced in 2005.
Manufacture primarily takes place in the departments of Ardèche
Ardèche
Ardèche is a department in south-central France named after the Ardèche River.- History :The area has been inhabited by humans at least since the Upper Paleolithic, as attested by the famous cave paintings at Chauvet Pont d'Arc. The plateau of the Ardeche River has extensive standing stones ,...
and Drôme
Drôme
Drôme , a department in southeastern France, takes its name from the Drôme River.-History:The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution...
, though regulations also permit the canton of Barjac
Barjac, Gard
Barjac is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.The valley of the river Cèze lies to the south, and the river Ardèche is to the north....
in Gard
Gard
Gard is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.The department is named after the River Gard, although the formerly Occitan name of the River Gard, Gardon, has been replacing the traditional French name in recent decades, even among French speakers.- History...
and Valréas
Valréas
Valréas is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-History:The area around the town of Valréas is known as L'Enclave des Papes. It is an enclave of Vaucluse, surrounded by the department of the Drôme. The foundation of the Enclave began...
in Vaucluse
Vaucluse
The Vaucluse is a department in the southeast of France, named after the famous spring, the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.- History :Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes...
.
AOC
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
status was granted in 1983.