Ingredient: Sainte-Maure de Touraine (Goats' cheese)
Category: Dairy- Cheese
Season: All
Sainte-Maure de Touraine is a French cheese produced in the region of Touraine, mainly in the department of Indre-et-Loire.
It is named after the small town of Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine, in the department of Indre-et-Loire, near Chinon.
Sainte-Maure de Touraine is an unpasteurized cheese made from goat's whole milk.
It has the form of a small log, around 16-17 cm in length, and weighs at least 250 g.
It is white and soft under a greyish mouldy rind.
A remarkable feature is the straw through its centre, marked by the AOC seal and a number indicating the producer.
The straw is used, in the making, to keep the roll together.
The finished cheese has 45% milkfat.
Quality control
Protected since 1990 by the AOC Seal, Sainte-Maure de Touraine is made with traditional methods.
It should not be confused with "Sainte-Maure", also produced in Touraine, but without meeting the stringent AOC production criteria.
"Sainte-Maure" is the industrial counterpart of the high-quality, traditionally made, Sainte-Maure de Touraine.
Their straw is not marked by a seal, thus differentiating them from AOC cheeses.
Production
1,065 tons of Sainte-Maure de Touraine were produced in 2003 , 58% on dairies and 42% on farms.
Since it became a AOC in 1990, its production has strongly increased, from 275 tons (a nearly 300% increase).
It is now the second largest produced goat's cheese AOC in France, just behind "Crottin de Chavignol"
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