Pass the Salt

Banon. Un fromage de chèvre au lait cru.

My Mothers’ Day treat: un fromage de Banon, an AOC raw milk cheese made in Provence and imported by Ludovic Avril of Le Marché Français.

It really was like unwrapping a present. I untied the raffia string then carefully pulled away the dark chestnut leaves to reveal a velvety soft cushion of cheese. The goaty aroma was truly splendid and when the blade of my knife bit into the rind, its unctuous centre glooped like lava onto the cheese board.

We ate it for lunch with a baguette from Le Moulin bakery and a Mt Difficulty ‘Roaring Meg’ Pinot Noir. It was an ill-chosen match. The goat so completely overpowered the grape, it was like drinking water. We gave up on the wine and savoured the cheese.

My French cheese book tells me it should be partnered with vin de cassis, which makes  perfect sense when you read on and discover banon is soaked in eau-de-vie before being wrapped in leaves and left to ripen. It packs a punch. The book goes on to list the characteristics of le banon, its creamy yellow ‘croûte’ and a ‘pâte’ that’s ‘homogène, crémeuse, onctuese et souple’ – in other words, bloody brilliant.