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

, 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

, 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 {{cheese-stub