Langres – a washed rind cheese that has a wrinkly orange appearance and takes its name from the Langres plateau in the Champagne region of France. It’s one of our absolute favourites and is not for the fainthearted as it has a strong farmyardy aroma and a slightly sour taste – delicious!
Langres, a semi-soft, washed rind cheese from the Champagne region
Langres is a semi-soft cheese that has a washed rind which means it has literally been ‘washed’ in a brine solution which prevents mould forming and gives the rind a sticky, wrinkled appearance. The orange colour of the rind comes from the addition of annatto to the brine. Annatto is a natural food colouring that comes from the seeds of the achiote tree. Said to have a spicy, peppery aroma it is believed to originate from Brazil and was thought to be used for body painting and for medicinal purposes before it became better known as a natural food colouring.
Langres semi-soft rind cheese from the Champagne region
A cow’s milk cheese, Langres is cylinder shaped with a sunken middle. The centre is soft and chalky and over time the area close to the skin become creamy, runny and quite stinky. It was granted AOC status (Appellation d’Origine Controlée) in 1990 which means that its production is tightly controlled. There are 32 dairies that provide milk for the production of Langres, 2 artisanal producers, 1 co-operative and 2 industrial producers. Our cheese comes from one of the artisanal producers and is sourced from our local Nantes based cheese supplier, Beillevaire. From January 2018, at least 50% of the milk that makes the cheese must come from Simmental, Montbeliarde or Brune cattle and their nourishment is also strictly controlled. Cheeses must be aged for between 15 and 21 days minimum depending upon their size and weight (most are aged for between 2 to 3 months) and the little crater in the middle must be at least 5mm deep!
Did you know that the controls for the production of an AOC cheese are almost as rigid as those for wines? Very few cheeses have their own AOC so they are a bit special!
Cheeses that are cylindrical in shape should be cut like a cake. You’ll make a French person wince if you cut across the cheese!
Cylinder shaped cheeses should be cut like a cake
Some Langres lovers will pour a little Marc de Champagne (grape spirit from the Champagne region) into the little crater before eating but we prefer it just as it is. As it has a strong character it can be tricky to match with wine. So often the best pairings come from the region of production and in this case a glass of Champagne is a great partner. Obviously for us it would be a glass of Crémant de Loire but a fresh white wine without too much oak character would also be a good match.
It’s a tricky cheese to pronounce but this is how to say it in French.
