La Fête du Fromage: Bourrée
Sep 12th, 2008 by Danielle
Bourrée will make you kick up your heels!
For the inaugural edition of the international blogging event, La Fête du Fromage, I selected an American artisan cheese that pays homage to French cheesemaking tradition. Bourrée* is one of three varieties of farmstead, raw cow’s milk cheese produced by Dancing Cow Farm in Vermont. Run by the Getz family, the farm is an organic, closed-loop operation where the hay is grown to feed the animals, and their manure returns nutrients to the soil. The cows calve in the spring and graze in pasture from May through November. Their milk production is seasonal, ending for the year as they return to the barn for the colder months.
The cheese-making at Dancing Cow Farm is as old-fashioned as their herd management. Even as the cows are having their daily milking, milk flows into the cheese vat. Neither cooled nor cooked, the raw milk is handled gently to preserve its flavor and nutrients, resulting in complex cheeses that express subtle notes of terroir. The cheeses are aged for at least sixty days in the farm’s cheese cellar, as well as in the subterranean halls of Jasper Hill Farm’s new cheese vault.
Bourrée is has an earthy aroma, which reminded my mother-in-law of the autumn days she spent collecting apples for making cider in New Hampshire. She recalled the scent of damp leaves and the sweet, slightly fermented apples upon smelling this cheese. It’s such a beautiful image, and so appropriate as we enjoy a crisp, early fall here in New England.
The supple, semi-soft texture of Bourrée is similar to the Savoyard classic, Reblochon. Borrowing an expression from Max McCalman, Bourrée is a “bacon and eggs” cheese: its paste offers yolk-like richness with a tantalizing, salty edge. Its flavor is mellow and nutty, mild and flavorful. I love it with a coarse, crusty loaf of whole grain bread. It’s a versatile cheese for pairing with beverages; beer, cider, or medium-bodied red or white wine would accompany it nicely.
*The origin of the name Bourrée is the French peasant dance and not, as I thought, the French slang for “drunk.” Turns out the cheese is washed only in brine, not in beer or wine.
I wish I had seen your post while we were still in Vermont! We won’t be back until next spring, but I’d love to go see Jasper Hill Farm when we return.
We absolutely fell in love with Vermont, and I was blown away by the local artisanal food production. It is a locavore’s heaven!
And in the meantime, I’ll keep my eyes out for Bourrée while we travel. I would love to try it.
Cool informative post about a cheese I’ve never tried before… One wedge at a time, I guess.
Love the picture of you at Hot Doug’s. It’s my favorite restaurant in the world!
Shaula,
Sorry to see that you’d just left Brattleboro, VT; we could have tasted cheese together at the Co-op! Looking forward to keeping up with your Mini Cooper road trip on your blog– hope you find some tasty cheese along the way!
Jude,
I loved reading your blog, from your advice on baking bread to your latest food discoveries in Chicago. Congrats on being the first person to identify the interior of Hot Doug’s! How I miss Doug and his encased meats….