🧀 Crottin de Chavignol

Crottin de Chavignol (also registered as Chavignol) is a small French goat's cheese with a protected designation of origin (PDO), made from raw whole goat's milk. According to the specification, the milk is curdled by lactic acid with only a little rennet. The name has been protected in the EU since 1996.

Look. The cheese is a flat cylinder, very slightly bulging at the edge, with rounded edges; it is widest in the middle because it must be turned in its mould. It weighs 60 to 90 g when it leaves the dairy, contains 37 to 48 g of dry matter and at least 45% fat in the dry matter. The thin ivory rind may carry white or blue moulds and darken, even to brown, in so-called "repassés" cheeses: blue cheeses ripened further in a confined atmosphere, which makes them soft.

Making. The herd must consist only of Alpine goats. The milk comes from the last two days' milking and is processed within 21 hours of the last milking. The curd is pre-drained on cloth, then drained in a truncated mould with at least one turn. Ripening lasts at least 10 days from moulding, in two phases: at least 5 days above 10 °C and 70% humidity, then at a positive temperature. Ripening under film, in oil, alcohol, wine or herbs, and ash coating are forbidden.

Production area. Milk production, cheesemaking and ripening take place mainly in the Pays-Fort Sancerrois and neighbouring areas (Champagne Berrichonne, Loire slopes, Sologne): most of the Cher department and parts of Nièvre and Loiret. The name has been protected in the EU since 1996. The label must show the registered name in large letters and the EU PDO symbol.

Why it matters to you. The genuine cheese is easy to recognise: the label shows Crottin de Chavignol or Chavignol in large letters and the EU PDO symbol; any other small «crottin» is not it. It is made from raw milk, so the NHS advises pregnant women to eat soft goat's cheeses with a white rind only when cooked until steaming hot, because of the risk of listeria.