Rocamadour is a

French cheese This is a list of French cheeses documenting the varieties of cheeses, a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms, which are found in France. In 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle asked, "How can you gove ...

from the southwest part of the country. It is produced in the regions of

Périgord Périgord ( , ; ; oc, Peiregòrd / ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is div ...

and

Quercy Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Au ...

and takes its name from the village of

Rocamadour Rocamadour (; ''Rocamador'' in Occitan) is a commune in the Lot department in Southwestern France. It lies in the former province of Quercy. Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogne an ...

in the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of the

Lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

. Rocamadour belongs to a family of goat cheeses called

Cabécou Cabécou is a soft goat cheese that comes from the Midi-Pyrénées region of southern France. It has a thin striped rind and after two weeks its crust grows blue mold changing its taste. It is one of Aquitaine's most famous foods. Aquitaine is a ...

s and has benefited from being accorded an AOC (

appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

) designation since 1996. It is a very small whitish cheese (average weight 35 g) with a flat round shape (see illustration). Rocamadour is usually sold very young after just 12-15 days of aging and is customarily consumed on hot toast or in salads. Rocamadour can be aged further. After several months it takes on a more intense flavor and is typically eaten on its own with a red wine toward the end of the meal. Production: 546 tonnes in 1998 (+24.1% since 1996), 100% with raw, unpasteurized goat milk (50% on farms).

References

External links

Cahier des charges AOP de l'appellation rocamadour enregistré à la Commission européenne

consulté le 30 janvier 2010.
Rocamadour
site des fromages AOP French cheeses Occitan cheeses French products with protected designation of origin Goat's-milk cheeses Cheeses with designation of origin protected in the European Union {{cheese-stub

See also

References

External links