Cathare is a

goat's milk cheese Goat cheese, or chèvre ( or ; from French language, French ''fromage de chèvre'' 'goat cheese'), is cheese made from goat's milk. Goats were among the first animals to be domesticated for producing food. Goat cheese is made around the world w ...

from the

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and ...

region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

comes in flat discs whose face is covered in

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

powder with the

Occitan cross The Occitan cross (also called ''cross of Occitania'', ''cross of Languedoc'', ''cross of Toulouse''; heraldically ''cross cleché, pommetty and voided'') is a heraldic cross, today chiefly used as a symbol of Occitania. The design was probably ...

inscribed. Under the rind, Cathare is pure white with a soft, creamy texture. Its goat-milk flavor intensifies as it ages, and reaches its prime after two to three weeks, which makes it typically unavailable in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, due to the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

's stance that

raw milk Raw milk or unpasteurized milk is milk that has not been pasteurized, a process of heating liquid foods to kill pathogens for safe consumption and extending the shelf life. Proponents of raw milk have asserted numerous supposed benefits to consu ...

soft cheeses can pose a health risk. The sale of raw milk cheese aged under 60 days is illegal in the United States.

References

French cheeses Occitan cheeses Goat's-milk cheeses {{cheese-stub

See also

References