Sainte-Maure de Touraine

Sainte-Maure de Touraine

What it is

A rye straw runs the whole length of the log, and since 1991 it has been branded with the appellation and the producer's number, so the cheese carries its own traceability inside it. The story goes that goat herding reached Touraine with the Arab families who stayed after the defeat at Poitiers in 732 — a good tale with no record behind it.

In the kitchen

The straw holds the log together while it ripens; pull it out before slicing or it drags ash through the paste. Rounds about 1 cm thick grill without collapsing — thinner and they run.

Goes with

Honey Walnut Olive oil Radish Thyme Apple Chervil Beetroot

In season alongside

Oregon white truffle Pouligny-Saint-Pierre Acorn Antep pistachio Artichoke Bianchetto truffle

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