Catching a Rainbow

Part I.


Situated at the crossroads of three strong historical provinces of France, Selles-sur- Cher was a perfect place for one of the six famous goat cheeses of the Loire Valley to have originated.
The provinces, politically obsolete and a part of history since the reorganization of French territory in 1790 are still important to the French as a culinary nation. They are often used when referring to gastronomic regions of the country or where a product comes from that transcends the newer departmental borders… such as cheese.




The small commune situated in the centre of France within the département of Loire et Cher covers an area of 2574 hectares and has a population of 5000 Sellois and Selloise as the locals are called.


The flag of Selles-sur-Cher shows three saddles, which were incorporated into the banner in the 17th Century. The word selle is the French for saddle, but it is not clear when and where these markings arose. The heraldic banner may have been created after the cheese was named.
As for the naming of the village, Selle comes from the Latin word Cella, used to describe a monks cell in a hermitage or monastery. Saint Eusice constructed a hermitage in the département of Cher soon after the arrival of Christianity in France, around 500 A.D. On his death in 540 a roman style basilica was built over his tomb on the flood plain of the river Cher and became known as the Celle of Saint Eusice or the Celle sur Cher and eventually Selle-sur-Cher…the saddles were an additional extra and quite possible a play on the original word celle.



As with many other cheeses in France, Selles-sur-Cher was named after the village or town in which it was first made. Today, the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée extends to over fourteen Cantons situated in the Champagne Berrichonne area, Basse Sologne and Cher itself. The permitted area of production also extends into the nearby departments of Loir-et-Cher, l’Indre and further east along the valley of the River Cher.
This area of France is not particularly fertile, interspersed as it is with numerous small lakes, ponds and marshland which are in curious opposition to the low hills, scrubland and sprawling heaths covered in hardy aromatic plants, ideal forage for goats, essential for the cheese giving a depth of character which lush grass could not provide.

In the beginning, and it is not clear when that was, Selles-sur-Cher was exclusively a farm produced product. Enough milk was taken to make enough cheese for the farmer, his family and the local community.
A formal written record of how and when the cheese was first made was not written down, but was passed from mother to daughter, father to son through the ages.
It was not until the beginning of the 19th Century that a farmer native to the region stated that he had been taught how to make the cheese by his mother and she by her mother before her and he laid claim to the heritage of this cheese. The farmer went onto say that the cheese then called Selles, was named after the pottery moulds or faisselles in which the cheese was first drained. It is of course possible but a great many French cheeses are drained using small china or earthenware pots, but only one has the name Selles; his story is not convincing. It is probable that the history of this cheese will never be fully known.
Later, travelling vendors who passed through the region collecting local produce from local farms for re-sale elsewhere made a good trade buying and selling cheese, in particular the Selles-sur-Cher. Many cheeses were bought fresh, as they were cheaper but they were also more fragile. It was therefore necessary to store the cheese, allow them to ripen and thus develop a firmer texture prior to transportation and eventual sale. The main centre for storage and refining was the village of Selles-sur-Cher- and the local cheese took on the name of the village.

More recently several cheese producers grouped together and formed the Syndicat de Défense du Selles-sur-Cher. The organisation created in 1972 with a view to obtaining the coveted AOC for Selles-sur-Cher achieved its goal in 1975 and was only the second goats cheese in France do so after Pouligny Saint Pierre.


What the AOC says:
SELLES-SUR-CHER

29 December 1986 as amended:

1. The appellation d'origine "Selles-sur-Cher" is reserved for goat cheese made in a specific region and covers the production of the milk, the delivery of the milk, the fabrication of the cheese and the final ripening before sale. All must take place within the strict geographical area as laid out by statute
2. The milk can only come from herds officially certificated as being free from Brucellosis.
3. The production of the milk, the making of the cheese and its ripening must all take place within the following geographical regions:

Département de Loir-et-Cher
Arrondissement de Blois
Arrondissement de Romorantin-Lanthenay

Département de l'Indre
Arrondissement de Châteauroux
Arrondissement d'Issoudun

Département du Cher
Arrondissement de Vierzon

4. The cheese benefiting from the label Appellation d'Origine "Selles-sur-Cher" is obtained by a method of lactic coagulation of goat’s milk with the addition of a small amount of rennet.
5. The cheese must weigh as minimum 200g when fresh and has a soft pâte covered with a light mould.
6. The cheese dusted with powdered charcoal and salt, must have a minimum of 45% fat per 100g when fully dried.
7. The total weight of dry material must not be less than 55g for each cheese.
8. The moulds used to make the cheese are slightly conical in shape, although shallow must be no smaller than 9.5 cm and must be filled by ladle.
9. The cheese must be ripened for a minimum of ten days including the day they are made.
10. To control production and quality detailed records must be kept by both the manufacturers and the refiners of the cheese and must include such details as the quantity of milk used and the number of cheese made. Theses ledgers must be maintained daily.
11. Labelling of cheese awarded the denomination appellation d'origine "Selles-sur-Cher" must carry the name appellation d'origine written in letters and the characters must be no less than two thirds the size of any other lettering used on the packaging.
12. The logo of the I.N.A.O., the mention of the "Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée" and the name of the appellation must all appear on the packaging of Selles-sur-Cher.

Part II.

Traditional in shape the Selles-sur-Cher is a cheese made from raw un-pasteurised goats milk with a soft paste or pâte. It is a small cylindrical cheese with slightly sloping sides, being smaller in diameter at the top than at the base. The cheese is 8 to 9.5cm in diameter, depending on the age of the cheese, and no thicker than two or three centimetres. It has a fine outer rind, which is evenly covered in a blue-grey mould as well as an even coating of pulverised charcoal and salt. The depth of colour depends on the age of the cheese.
Initially the milk is heated to a temperature of 18/20° for between 16 and 30 hours and the curds are then carefully ladled into moulds. The moulds, perforated on the base and sides facilitate draining, which continues for 24 hours.

The cheese when first formed is fragile and must be left undisturbed to allow a fully homogenised pâte to form, if not the cheese would easily break up whilst being removed from the moulds.
They are then removed from the formers, dusted with charcoal and salt, which prevents the cheese drying out by absorbing moisture from the atmosphere, as well as helping with the refining process. Originally the charcoal would have been from vines from the Touraine region, a local wine producing area but now industrial charcoal is used.
The newly formed Selles-sur-Cher’s are then stored between 12 and 15° at a constant 85-95% humidity, for a minimum of ten days.

When first ripened the cheese has an almost brilliant white pâte, smooth, soft and melting. As the cheese matures the texture becomes firmer and the colour changes from white to that of pale ivory. Although as with other goats cheese there is a dominant nutty taste, Selles-sur-Cher has a prominent sour bite with a slightly bitter aftertaste, which is long on the palate. This attribute is more pronounced in the outer rind of the cheese and for this reason many people chose to remove it before eating, but by doing this much of the character of this wonderful cheese is lost.


Wines to go with Selles-sur-Cher:

Touraine
Valençay.
Côteaux du Cher.


References
http://www.fromages.com/cheese_library_detail.php?id_fromage=46
http://www.maison-du-lait.com/Prodlait/AOC/Selles.html
http://www.mairie-selles-sur-cher.fr/decouvrir/jumelage.php
http://www.cheesereporter.com/Parker/Parker.june16.htm
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/05/04/FDGBICGTKU1.DTL

© Malcolm Hamilton 2006 and 2007.