🧀 Fromage de Herve
Also known as: Herve, Herve cheese
Fromage de Herve is a Belgian PDO soft cow's milk cheese from the Herve plateau (province of Liège) with a washed orange rind and a strong aroma.
Fromage de Herve is a Belgian soft cow's milk cheese with a washed rind, made on the Herve plateau (Pays de Herve) in the province of Liège. The name has been protected in the EU as a PDO since 1996 (eAmbrosia file PDO-BE-0312); it is the only Belgian cheese with this status.
The Herve area is green, hilly country of hedgerows and meadows where dairy farming has dominated for centuries. Under the PDO rules the milk is produced and the cheese made and ripened within the defined area, and the cows spend much of the year at pasture.
The milk is set with rennet, the curd is moulded, salted and taken to the ripening cellar. There each cheese is washed regularly with brine: Brevibacterium linens bacteria turn the rind orange-pink and create the typical strong smell. The cheese is a small block with a soft, pale-yellow to velvety paste. Young Herve is mild; longer-ripened cheese becomes sharper and more piquant.
Historically the Herve area belonged to the Duchy of Limburg, the home of the related cheese Limburger. Both belong to the washed-rind cheeses.
How to eat it: in Belgium Herve is served on dark bread with the thick apple and pear syrup of the same region, and with beer. Keep it well wrapped so the smell does not spread. More pairing ideas are on Wine and cheese.
Why it matters to you: only cheese from the Herve area, made and ripened to the PDO specification, may be sold as Fromage de Herve.
Facts
| Raw material | Cow's milk |
|---|---|
| Country | Belgium |
| Region | Pays de Herve, province of Liège |
| Legal basis | EU PDO since 1996, PDO-BE-0312 1 |
How it connects to Cheese
🧀 Fromage de Herve → kind of → 🟠 Washed-rind cheeses → kind of → 🧀 Cheese
Links
- Made from which milk
- 🥛 Cow's milk
- Part of
- 🟠 Washed-rind cheeses, 🏷️ Protected cheese names
- Similar and different
- 🧀 Limburger
Frequently asked questions
What is Fromage de Herve?
A Belgian PDO soft cow's milk cheese from the Herve area in Liège province, whose rind is washed with brine.
What do you eat Herve cheese with?
Dark bread, the local apple and pear syrup, and beer.
Is it true that a strong smell means Herve has gone off?
No. The smell comes from the washed-rind bacteria Brevibacterium linens and is normal; the paste tastes milder than it smells.
Similar
🧀 Olomoucké tvarůžky · 🧀 Époisses · 🧀 Munster · 🧀 Livarot · 🧀 Pont-l'Évêque · 🧀 Stelvio
ℹ️ Dairy products contain lactose and milk proteins: if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, ask a doctor.
Sources
- eAmbrosia — Fromage de Herve (PDO-BE-0312)
- EUR-Lex — Регламент (ЄС) 1263/96 (реєстрація Fromage de Herve)