This is a cheese you’re unlikely to find outside France.
Claousou is a brebis (sheep’s cheese) that comes from Occitanie. A relatively new cheese developed in 2012 it’s surrounded by a spruce belt that keeps it from losing it’s oval shape and contributes to its flavour.
The spruce comes from the Jura region of France . It’s also a washed rind cheese and it comes from the arid limestone plateau Le Causse Mejean at 800m to 1247m altitude in the heart of the Cevennes. Milk is collected from about a dozen shepherds all within 30km of the fromagerie.
The name comes from the small oval gardens of the Causse territory which are protected from sheep by hand built stones walls.
It’s shape was the inspiration for the cheese.
Serve with a light red wine that’s low in tannin such as a Gamay or Beaujolais.
