Baguette laonnaise, losange, dauphin or baguette Thiérache, is a variation of
Maroilles cheese
Maroilles (; also known as Marolles, or simply known as Maroilles) is a cow's-milk cheese made in the regions of Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais in northern France. It derives its name from the village of Maroilles in the region in which it is sti ...
,
a type of
washed-rind cheese
Washed-rind or smear-ripened cheeses are cheeses which are periodically treated with brine or mold-bearing agents. This encourages the growth of certain bacteria on their surface which give them distinctive flavors. There are hard and soft wash ...
made from cow's milk. It originates from the region of
Thiérache
The Thiérache () is a region of France and Belgium united by similar geography and architecture, including the presence of hedgerows, grassland, hilly terrain, scattered settlements, and traditionally-built stone or brick houses with stone dividi ...
as well as the city of
Laon
Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
History
Early history
The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. In ...
,
Picardie
Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France.
Hist ...
, France.
The cheese has a 45%
fat
In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers spec ...
content, and is typically loaf-shaped and has a supple interior as well as a sticky orange-brown rind.
It is matured in a humid cellar with
salt water
Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...
washing for three to four months.
The name comes from its shape, a rectangular baguette roughly 15cm long, with a square section of 6cm on each side and a weight of 500g.
Origins
Various origins can be found:
* one origin refers to a visit of the
dauphin, son of
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
. Due to is young age, monks presented a milder version of
Maroilles cheese
Maroilles (; also known as Marolles, or simply known as Maroilles) is a cow's-milk cheese made in the regions of Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais in northern France. It derives its name from the village of Maroilles in the region in which it is sti ...
, by adding herbs and spices;
* an other origin refers to a "royal act" setting the "
Dauphin's Rights", signed by
Charles VII of France
Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461.
In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...
. The cheese would have been created to render thanks to an exemption of right-of-way fee dispensed to Maroilles cheese transporters;
* an other source sets a creation date circa 1930.
Manufacturing
This cheese is a variation of
Maroilles cheese
Maroilles (; also known as Marolles, or simply known as Maroilles) is a cow's-milk cheese made in the regions of Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais in northern France. It derives its name from the village of Maroilles in the region in which it is sti ...
, the only difference lies in the adjonction of
Black pepper
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diame ...
and
Tarragon
Tarragon (''Artemisia dracunculus''), also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes.
...
to the milk curd, before being placed in a mould. All the ingredients are then mixed and worked like Maroilles cheese.
''Tip: Avoid placing this cheese in a fridge for too long as the rind may dry out and cause the taste to become sour and gives off unpleasant-bitter aftertaste.''
References
External links
Cheese.com articlearticle
Cow's-milk cheeses
French cheeses
Picardy cuisine
Washed-rind cheeses
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