Description
If you're looking for a cheese to pair with champagne (or just a reason to pop open a bottle), look no further than France's own Langres, made in the Champagne region since the 18th century. A washed-rind cow's milk cheese, similar to the much revered and highly aromatic Époisse, Langres oozes out of its craggy, pale orange rind when ripe, just begging to be scooped up with a spoon (or licked off a finger).
Slightly mellower than Époisse, Langres is washed as it ripens with water and annatto, a natural dye that gives its damp, wrinkled rind a characteristic reddish-orange color. When you purchase Langres, it is cradled in a straw basket and you will see a small sunken indent in the top – the result of the cheese not being turned over during ripening (turning a cheese allows gravity to even out cheeses as they ripen). This indent is known as "the Fontaine" and is said to be created so that it can be filled with a drizzle of champagne.
Langres was declared CDO (Certified Designation of Origin) in 1991 then PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) in 2012. The Langres AOP Germain is a cheese made from cow’s milk with a soft centre and a washed rind. The cheese is matured according to a ver y demanding method of successive washings which gives it a beautiful orange colour. It's a cheese that has a pungent, intense and characteristic aroma which gives way to a fairly mild taste. The Langres AOP Germain is the leading Langres cheese in the world.
Langres was originally made at the actual farms using warm cow’s milk poured into terra cotta moulds called “fromottes”. Once flipped, the cheese had to dry on lime tree leaves and then be matured on oat straw. This has been an “Appellation d’Origine Protégée” (Protected Designation of Origin) cheese since 2009, from the plateau where the town of Langres is located.
The quality of the Langres cheese is obvious when you consider all its national and international awards (WCA, CGA, Mondial du Fromage...).
Ingredients : Pasteurized Cow's milk (Origin: France), Salt, Cultures, dye: Annatto norbixin
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Le Langres est une icône du terroir français. Sa forme cylindrique, légèrement tronconique, comporte une cavité appelée "Fontaine" ou "Cuvette", qui se forme naturellement pendant son affinage. Plus la fontaine se creuse, plus le fromage gagne en affinage et en crémeux, offrant ainsi des saveurs plus intenses.
La croûte du Langres, lisse à légèrement ridée, arbore des nuances allant du jaune doré au brun-rouge. Elle est régulièrement humidifiée et subit un frottage au marc de Bourgogne ou au marc de Champagne. Parfois, le fromage est teinté au Rocou de norbixine, un colorant naturel, pour rehausser sa belle couleur orangée. Il peut également développer un fin duvet blanc sur sa croûte.
La pâte du Langres est d'un blanc immaculé, dense et constituée de grains fins qui se transforment en une texture fondante et crémeuse à maturation.
En bouche, le Langres offre des saveurs puissantes et caractéristiques, tandis que son nez dégage des arômes typés et intenses. Ce fromage incarne parfaitement le raffinement de la tradition fromagère française.
https://www.fromagerie-germain.com/en/our-cheeses/le-langres-aop/