Le Chevrot
Ladle-moulded & medal-winning AOP cheeses: Our know-how
The making of our cheeses
Our raw milk cheeses are made from century-old recipes, passed down from generation to generation since 1892. They are produced and matured by our master cheesemakers and present different flavors and textures.
What do they have in common? The authenticity and quality of a traditional raw milk cheese.
Ladle-molded cheeses
The preparation room
Upon receipt, the milk is first cooled and then stored in stainless steel tanks.
Renneting
After a maturation phase at low temperature, the milk is placed in basins with a small dose of rennet.
Milk curdling
The coagulation time is at least 16 hours. During this time, the action of lactic ferments allows significant acidification of the milk accompanied by mass gain.
This is how we obtain a coagulum ready for the molding phase.
Molding
It is made with a ladle using an ancestral method: the curds are carefully placed in pots, in the purest of farm cheese traditions.
This technique is only used for raw milk cheeses!
The draining process
This phase lasts from 48 hours to 72 hours: the time necessary for the serum to evacuate and during which the cheeses are turned several times to obtain regular products with a uniform appearance.
Unmolding
After the draining phase, the goat cheeses are placed on racks and placed in a cooling room awaiting salting.
Salting
Carried out with dry salt calibrated for very great regularity, salting allows the development of surface flora. It penetrates the cheese paste to give it great flavor.
The maturing
The cheeses stay for approximately 12 days in our maturing cellars.
This period is very important for the final quality of the products since it is in these cellars that the flavors of the cheeses develop... To the great delight of consumers.
Packaging
Once the cheeses are matured, our Master cheesemakers take them to packaging. The cheeses are packaged according to their specificities: fresh packaged, self-service and cut.
Stirred cheeses
Maturation
Once the milk is at room temperature, at 21°C, lactic ferments are added to reduce the acidity. The process lasts between 5 and 7 hours.
Renneting
The milk is then placed in a basin, equipped with a tarpaulin and a canvas to prevent the curds from escaping.
Rennet is then added to promote coagulation of the milk and obtain the curds necessary for making cheese. The duration of renneting is the same as for ladle molding, from 12 hours to 16 hours.
The curds, retained by the tarpaulin, will remain for 2 days before moving on to the next stage.
Brewer
At the end of the two days, the curds and whey are put into the brewer. We add salt and arases, which is excess curd recovered from our molded cheeses.
ladle.
Dosing machine
The stirred curds are then put into a dosing machine, which draws the curds into the stirrer and then distributes them over the molds.
The cheeses are unmolded after 24 to 48 hours then will be placed in a refrigerator at 5°C for a day, then taken to the drying rooms.
Sèvre & Belle, our know-how
AOP cheeses
What is a Protected Designation of Origin?
Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) formerly Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) was created in Europe in 1990. It designates a product of a certain notoriety, manufactured in a defined geographical area according to traditional and recognized know-how.
The product is inseparable from its terroir and cannot be reproduced in other places : the mode of production, processing and development must absolutely take place in this territory according to the rules of the specifications. The latter is sufficiently restrictive to guarantee consumers the quality and local taste presented by AOP products.
Chabichou du Poitou AOP benefits from the Protected Designation of Origin since 1990. However, the producer must respect the specifications for the manufacture of this cheese. The production of milk, manufacturing and maturing of cheeses must be carried out in the geographical area of the PDO. The latter corresponds to the Haut-Poitou limestone, this area extends over half of the departments of Deux-Sèvres and Vienne as well as a few municipalities in the north of Charente.
Our Chabichou du Poitou Sèvre & Belle, AOP, is a raw milk goat cheese.
It owes its shape to the piece of wood which formerly closed the wine barrels. According to legend, its name dates back to the 8th century during the defeat of the Saracens after the Battle of Poitiers. Some of them having settled in the region with their herd of goats, they made a cheese called Cheblis (goat in Arabic) which later became Chabichou.
We are very proud of our Chabichou du Poitou Sèvre & Belle, AOP, which is often a medalist in national and regional competitions.
Sèvre & Belle, our know-how
Our medals
Sèvre & Belle stands out for its know-how and preserved traditions. Every year, we are rewarded by the Concours Général Agricole.
Our medals in 2024
La petite bûche Caprifeuille
Le Crottin pasteurisé
Le Cabridoux