Pélardon

Pélardon

What it is

Abbé Boissier de Sauvages defined a small flat Cévennes cheese called péraldou in 1756; the word drifted through péraldon and pélardou before settling late in the nineteenth century. It is usually traced to pèbre, Occitan for pepper — which fits the Picodon over the next valley better than it fits Pélardon, which stays supple and smells of the garrigue.

In the kitchen

Eat it at ten to fifteen days, while it still gives under the thumb; held longer it dries and sharpens, which is Picodon's job, not its own. A minute under the grill on toast is enough.

Goes with

Honey Thyme Olive oil Walnut Fig Rosemary Lavender honey Apricot

In season alongside

Chabichou du Poitou Chinotto Clary sage Feijoa Hyssop Lavender flowers

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