Rigotte de Condrieu

Rigotte de Condrieu

What it is

Whole raw goat's milk is set 18 to 24 hours into a lactic curd, preferably seeded with whey from the previous batch; it is moulded without cutting or pre-draining, turned within 12 hours and dry-salted on both faces, which spreads the salt evenly. The disc, 4.2 to 5 cm across, dries fast - historically in a wire-mesh cupboard, the chasière, in the Pilat wind - and is ready 8 days after unmoulding. Condrieu, whose name it carries, was a busy Rhône trading town until mid-19th-century steamboats.

In the kitchen

Buy two ages if you can: young and ivory it is mild and whey-fresh; older, blued and firm, it shows hazelnut and undergrowth. It is a single serving - serve it whole with a fig and a thread of honey, or warm it briefly on toast.

Goes with

Fig Honey Walnut Hazelnut Lamb’s lettuce Thyme Black pepper Olive oil

Same species

Kid goat Mâconnais goat cheese Mothais sur feuille Valençay

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