People often ask me when I’m going to run out of cheeses to write about. Not gonna happen. Every time I’m at a well-run counter, I find a cheese I’ve never seen. And that’s the one I want. I know it’s tempting to stick with what you like, but if you take the occasional risk on a cheese you don’t know, you’ll become a better taster. That’s how I discovered this crazy-good washed-rind cheese, which is now a must for my upcoming “Cheese Meets Beer” class. I’ve experienced a lot of memorable matchups in my life, but this meaty cheese with Saison Dupont was Hall of Fame great.
Ciel de Chèvre is a raw-milk washed-rind goat cheese from Belgium. Even if you delete “from Belgium,” that’s a minuscule niche. The same creamery makes the fabulous Cabricharme and there’s a strong family resemblance. Ciel de Chèvre is a bigger cheese—about five pounds versus two—but it has the same thin, tacky rind and beefy, yeasty aroma. When the cheese is ripe, the texture is like pudding, especially near the center. Similar cheeses are often sort of fudgy or sticky; I don’t know how the creamery achieves such a supple, silky, fragile mouthfeel. The flavor is saline and meaty, yet surprisingly delicate. It reminds me of sausage.
Belgian goat’s milk charmer: Cabricharme
When I featured Cabricharme in Planet Cheese several years ago, I included the Ten Commandments for Serving Cheese that I found on the website of the producer, La Fermière de Méan. My own commandments would be a little different, but I enjoyed learning how the Belgians approach the cheese course.
Ciel de Chèvre translates roughly as “heavenly goat cheese,” a description I would endorse. I opened a Saison Dupont with it and…wow. I’ll drink that impeccable Belgian brew with anything, but it seemed tailor-made for this Trappist-style cheese.
If you’re anywhere near Napa Valley, please join me for Cheese Meets Beer on Tuesday, August 12. It’s always my favorite class on the World Cheese Tour: seven artisan cheeses with seven craft brews. I’ll do my best to create pairings as pleasurable as this one.
Ciel de Chèvre is exclusively distributed by Food Matters Again. Ask your favorite cheese shop for it. In the meantime, look for it at Bee’s Knees Provisions (Brooklyn, NY); Cheese Board (Berkeley, CA); Concord Cheese Shop (Concord, MA); Darien Cheese & Fine Foods (Darien, CT); East Side Cheese & Provisions (Providence, RI); Formaggio Kitchen (multiple locations); Monger’s Palate (Brooklyn, NY); New Morning Market (Woodbury, CT); Stand Alone Cheese (Jackson Heights, NY); Sunshine Foods (St. Helena, CA); and Wickford Cheese & Sundry (North Kingstown, RI).