Visit to a goat's cheese producer - La Ferme des Courmettes
I got a tip-off via twitter that if there's one place to visit in the Nice region it's La Ferme des Courmettes. It didn't take much to persuade me, as I absolutely love cheese!
Goat country
So I set off for another adventure in my little car to a destination not on my GPS. A navigational challenge to say the least! After winding up to the top of a mountain I arrived at Bruno's goat farm.
As I arrived at the farm, it started to rain which sent all the goats back into their shed (apparently they hate getting wet). While the goats chilled out in their shed Bruno showed me how he makes his cheese.
Curd being put into its mould
Fresh curd sitting in moulds
Making cheese is a fairly simple process: half of the milk from the night before (the goats are milked twice a day) is mixed with half of the fresh milk. Rennet and salt are added and they are left to separate (curd and whey). The curds are then poured into a mould with holes, and left to sit while the liquid drains.
Pictured: Cheese just turned out of moulds. Fresh goat's cheese filled with pistou and olive paste, and plain soft goat's cheese. Heaven!
12–24 hours later the moulds are turned out and either put into the fridge or sold immediately. It takes 48 hours from milking the goat until you have fresh, finished goat's cheese.
Tomme - matured goat's cheese (very pungent!)
By the end of the cheese making demo I was very hungry, so couldn't resist buying a few fresh cheeses and a large slice of Tomme.
