One of the many delights of living in Provence is tasting the many varieties and qualities of goat cheese. At every market there are a number of individuals selling their version of the classic little goat cheese (un crotin de chevre). Generally, you will be given a choice amongst very fresh (one day to 3 days' old), one-two week old, one month old, and a "tres sec" which can be from one to three months old. Each has a distinct flavor and texture. The fresher is creamier and larger, still quite smooth and good for spreading. If you're lucky (depending on the weather) there might be a 2 week old that is runny and gooey, and the oldest will be tart and hard and good for grating in salads, or simply nibbling on. Cheese is a living thing in this country of raw milk cheeses and time plus the ambient temperature and humidity (or lack there-of) alter and change the product. Those who live in countries that insist on pasteurized milk, will never be able to taste the multiplicity of goat cheese as it can be here in Provence (unless you come to visit).

Claudine Malbosc and her husband Yves started tending goats and making cheese twenty years ago. At that time they were a young couple living in Marseille, Yves seemed destined to work in a civil service job, sitting at a desk all day. This prospect didn't appeal to him, and happily, Claudine shared his desire to leave the city and live on her family farm in St. Martin de Crau. The farm had been in the family for many generations, but for the past two -- Claudine's parents and grandparents -- it had been simply a weekend retreat. Returning to the farm and joining her husband in his passion turned out to be a chance for both of them. Over the last twenty years they have raised two sons on goat's milk, and the entertaining sights of their mother milking the goats and making cheese, and when in the mood, Dad dancing with goats. They have also lived a rigourous life of early mornings, never a day off, and periodic floods that threaten all.. but when you have the reward of a delicious cheese you can be proud of, that people come from all over to purchase.... well, I guess it's that cliche of happiness and contentedness in hard work, and pride in a job well done.

The making of goat cheese is an acquired skill as well as an art in that your personal style and the care you take of your animals comes through in the cheese you make. In France the goat cheese makers are self-regulated over and beyond the European Union laws. The way to have safe and delicious cheese made from raw milk is to tend your animals carefully and be sure that they are in good health. Bad milk comes from sick animals, and mis-handling. With regular checks by the veterinarian to assure the health of the animals (and careful observation by the goat herder himself), followed by a hygienic chain from beast to production, the quality of the cheese is assured.

Claudine and Eve have 70 goats. They milk them twice daily and make two styles of cheese. The first style is the traditional goat cheese of the hot Southern clime, that which must be curdled in one hour, at the temperature of the milk directly the goat (roughly 32C) and into which they put a relatively high dose of rennit. This is a mild-flavored cheese that they can shape into a large tome and age till it grows a nice crust. You can also eat it very fresh, the day it's made, with jam or honey. It is smooth and pleasant like milk. The second style of cheese they make is perhaps that which people are most familiar with. This is a style that makes use of the lactic acid present in the milk, plus a little rennit, and curdles, "takes" in 24 hours at a lower temperature of 20C. This is the tart cheese common to the hills of the Cevennes, Haute Provence, and other cooler climes. And this is the cheese of the famous little "crotins" which can be eaten very fresh (with honey and mint), a little aged, heated and on salad, and aged till hard and strong enough to bite you back.

When we visit Claudine she first brings us outside to visit the barn and meet the animals (tho we keep our distance from the billy goats!). She explains how her goats eat primarily the hay of the Crau (called foin in French) and its quality is world famous, even flown to Paris and Saudi Arabia for the race horses. To this basic diet they add a mixture of grains, oats, corn, barley.. It is with this grain mixture that she lures them to the milking stand where while they eat, they stand patiently to be milked. It has been a long time since she and Yves milked by hand, they now use a machine to milk the goats. Its use also assures the protection of the milk. A tube is attached to the milking machine which sends the milk to a large vat from which it can then directly pump into the production room, all this with no air-contact. The pumps are washed between each animal.

We then go into the production space, but not before donning our super special plastic boots. These are to assure that we don't track in any of the parasites or dirt from the barnyard (or our own backyard for that matter). In the lab Claudine demonstrates how the milk curdles, how she ladles the cheeses into their molds, and the various finishing rooms that are there for the cheese. Then.... oh so tempted, we get to taste them all!!! She even gives us recipes to cook up when we get home. I've put one here for you.

When you come to Provence, you'll find Claudine at her home at the Mas, or on Friday's at the outdoor market of the village of St. Martin de Crau. Say hi! But, don't look for her from November through March. That's the off season for goat cheese. Her animals are resting up for the birth of their babies in January/February and so give no milk the last two months of their gestation period. And of course, the new-borns are left with their mothers till at least a month before weaned. But, come Easter, you'll find some wonderful fresh goat cheese again, as the cycle continues.

Zucchini stuffed with Fresh Goat Cheese, Bacon and Sage
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