Tonight was one of those “Everybody fend for themselves for supper” kind of nights. Lots of leftovers (or “must-gos” as my mom calls them), so getting everyone together for Cheesy day 4, didn’t happen quite as organically as it does most nights.
… but it did happen, so here we go.
Today’s cheese was interesting. We had one similar to it last year on Day 9 and Day 21 of the 2020 Cheesy Christmas, but they were séchons de vache and chèvre respectively (séchon cheeses made with cow’s milk & goats’ milk respectively), today’s séchon is made with sheep milk instead.
But I’m getting ahead of myself…
Day #4: Séchon de Brebis
- Name: Séchon de Brebis.
As I mentioned last year it was rather tough to find detailed information about this séchon cheese but I’ll remind you that the name ‘séchon’ looks remarkably like a derivative of the word ‘secher’ (to dry). But I’m honestly not sure why the name as it would loosely be translated ‘a dried-down’ of cheese… which seems pretty generic as all cheese goes through some kind of drying process. If any of you are foodies and have a better explanation, please please leave a comment below. - Region: The Haute Loire region is surprisingly far from where we are. I always tend to think that it’s closer because the Loire River flows through the city of Tours which is only about 45mins north of us, but the origin of the river is, as you can see, much further away, in the more mountainous parts of France.
- Milk: pasteurized Sheep milk
- Our Score: 3.2/5
This was a really interesting cheese. On the surface, it had all the semblance of a mild cheese, not unlike a brie or a Camembert, but it had a mean after-kick… almost like a hot spicy taste. Again though, it was only after you’d eaten and swallowed it. We had a sip of apple juice afterward (apple juice / cider helps digest heavy cheese-based meals), but it was actually not a good idea… the strong aftertaste of the cheese really made the apple juice taste quite bitter. Hmmm… It was a better cheese than the impression my description might give, but just avoid the apple juice afterward.
The Cheese quote of the day comes from French lawyer, politician, epicure and gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826).
“Dessert without cheese is like a beauty with only one eye.”
Happy Cheesy Christmas….
See you tomorrow for cheese #5
AIM Long 
So good to be back and reading about your cheese! I so hope all is well.
Hi Michele thanks so much. Again, I’ve fallen behind – even with our cheesy Christmas posts. Have been having a hard time being regular about posting this fall. I keep coming back to it because it’s been ongoing since 2014, so a lot has gone into it and I’m loathe to leave it swinging in the breeze… but it’s been a bit of a slog.
Getting ready to write an ‘honest to goodness’ post (as opposed to just a cheese post)… so you’ll get a bit of an update.
I L-O-V-E your new little spot… it looks perfectly quaint and I love to hear that you’re gradually learning where the shadows fall and enjoying the chime of the church. Very happy for you!!
Thank you Mike-love to you and your precious family. The kids are certainly accomplishing a lot. I still remembering praying for them, when I first “met” you. Merry Merry Christmas!
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