Crottin de Chavignol
Chavignol is a village near Sancerre; this goat’s cheese was manufactured as "quick meal" for workers during grape harvest. Crottin means horse droppings, and that’s what the ripened cheese looks like. Astonishingly this cheese can be eaten at different stages of maturation, when its looks and flavor differ. A young Crottin weighs 140 g, and after 5 weeks only about half of this. 16 million cheeses are manufactured annually in artisanal, fermier and industrial versions.

Production
Unpressed raw-milk cheese. The milk coagulation is mainly induced by lactic acid bacteria. The cheese ripens in 10 days but is usually aged for 2-4 weeks and must be stored under cool and airy conditions.

The delight
Crottin aged two weeks has a creamy rind with little blue and white mold; it is moist, fresh and salty. After 1 month the rind is fully covered with mold, and the body has a pungent smell and a strong flavor. Then the rind turns brown, later black and rough. The body gets a pungent goat flavor. It is wonderful also on a cheese platter; it pairs with Sancerre de Chavignol.

Milk:	Goat
Fidm:	45 %
Family:	Goat cheese
Origin:	Cher region, France
Size:	approx. 60 g
Flavor:	slightly acidulous to hazelnut-like