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Guillaume's French Atlantic
series • cooking
PG
series • cooking
PG
According to , it's Aristaeus, the son of the Greek god Apollo, who created the first wheel of Ossau-Iraty with the milk of his herd of sheep. But whether you subscribe to mythology or not, we still know Ossau-Iraty is one of the oldest cheeses in the world, with production methods .
The name of this sheep's milk cheese is more recent. It got baptised Ossau-Iraty in 1980 when it received appelation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) status, a French label that recognises and protects food produced with a specific technique in a certain region. In 1996, Ossau-Iraty was recognised with protected designation of origin (PDO) status, the European equivalent of the French AOC.
Herding sheep to make Ossau-Iraty cheese. Credit: Valérie Henbest
Ossau-Iraty is made in two regions that border the Pyrenees: the mountain range connecting the border of France and Spain, the Ossau Valley, in Bearn, and the Iraty forest, in French Basque Country.
There's a ceremony to taste cheeses like Ossau-Iraty.
It's a semi-hard cheese, pale in colour, but not as white as a goat's milk cheese. "I think cheesemakers love using sheep's milk because it's higher in fat and calcium. Ossau-Iraty has a mild flavour, but is still intense with some sweetness and saltiness. It's nutty, a bit like brown butter. You can taste the herbs and the mountain, without it being too strong. It melts in your mouth," says Henbest.
The taste of Ossau-Iraty varies, depending on the cheesemaker and the season. In autumn and winter, the sheep stay and eat close to their farm. In the spring and summer, occurs. The shepherds bring their sheep into the mountains to graze on grass and wildflowers. The cheese is then made in huts onsite, always with raw milk, and with little machinery.
Henbest joined a shepherd to experience the process last year. She climbed the mountains of Bearn, helping to guide the sheep.
"It's so interesting, this ancestral ecosystem, and these traditions which haven't changed much for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. It's touching. When you see fromage d'Estive, made in summer, it's important to understand how it was made and that its quality is exceptional. It's a direct translation of the sheep's milk," she says.
While there's good Ossau-Iraty made more industrially, with pasteurised milk, Henbest recommends seeking Ossau-Iraty Fermier, the artisan cheese made with raw milk, which has a more complex flavour. And if you can get your hands on Ossau-Iraty produced during transhumance in summer, , jump on it!
While the taste and traditions around Ossau-Iraty are a large part of its appeal, Henbest also has a lot of customers who like cheese for health reasons, as .
It's a cheese with extraordinary traditions.
Ossau-Iraty melts well and will work in dishes like a gratin or . On a cheeseboard, it pairs with fruit.
"There's a tradition in the Basque Country and the Pyrenees to eat it with a black cherry jam. A spoonful of jam, quince paste, or some red fruit paste will go well with Ossau-Iraty," says Henbest.
"And you can add the jam to a toastie for an extraordinary mix of salty and sweet." On the wine front, she recommends having it with pinot noir.
However, the cheesemonger prefers to let the cheese speak for itself.
"Make sure it's at room temperature. Take your piece of Ossau-Iraty in your hands, breathe its aroma deeply, and then after that, taste it.
"It's a bit like a tea ceremony, there's a ceremony to taste cheeses like Ossau-Iraty."
