Rocamadour is a
French cheese
This is a list of French cheeses documenting the varieties of cheeses, a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms, which are found in France. In 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle asked, "How can you gov ...
from the southwest part of the country. It is produced in the regions of
Périgord
Périgord ( , ; ; oc, Peiregòrd / ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is div ...
and
Quercy
Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and ...
and takes its name from the village of
Rocamadour
Rocamadour (; ''Rocamador'' in Occitan) is a commune in the Lot department in Southwestern France. It lies in the former province of Quercy.
Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogn ...
in the ''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...
'' of the
Lot.
Rocamadour belongs to a family of goat cheeses called
Cabécou
Cabécou is a soft goat cheese that comes from the Midi-Pyrénées region of southern France. It has a thin striped rind and after two weeks its crust grows blue mold changing its taste. It is one of Aquitaine's most famous foods. Aquitaine is a ...
s and has benefited from being accorded an AOC (
appellation d'origine contrôlée
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...
) designation since 1996. It is a very small whitish cheese (average weight 35 g) with a flat round shape (see illustration).
Rocamadour is usually sold very young after just 12-15 days of aging and is customarily consumed on hot toast or in salads. Rocamadour can be aged further. After several months it takes on a more intense flavor and is typically eaten on its own with a red wine toward the end of the meal.
Production: 546 tonnes in 1998 (+24.1% since 1996), 100% with raw, unpasteurized goat milk (50% on farms).
See also
*
List of goat milk cheeses
Goat cheese is produced using goat milk, the milk of domestic goats. Goat milk is commonly used to make cultured dairy products, including cheese. Myriad goat milk cheeses are produced around the world.
Varieties
* Anari cheese
* Añejo ch ...
References
External links
Cahier des charges AOP de l'appellation rocamadour enregistré à la Commission européenne
consulté le 30 janvier 2010.
Rocamadour site des fromages AOP
French cheeses
Occitan cheeses
French products with protected designation of origin
Goat's-milk cheeses
Cheeses with designation of origin protected in the European Union
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