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AOC — PDO — Centre-Val de Loire
A grey-blue ashed log, pierced through with a rye straw pyrographed with the name of its maker — Sainte-Maure de Touraine is a jewel of dairy craftsmanship whose hallmark traces back to the Saracen women left on the banks of the Loire after the Battle of Poitiers.
Goat’s cheese from Centre-Val de Loire, PDO (AOP) since 1996.
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The history of Sainte-Maure de Touraine begins with one of the most famous battles in French history. In 732, Charles Martel halted the Arab advance at Poitiers. According to Touraine tradition, Arab women — the 'Moors' — were left behind on the banks of the Loire following the defeat; settling in Touraine, they supposedly passed on their goat's cheese-making savoir-faire to the local peasants. While the legend is undoubtedly embellished, it holds an element of truth: goat farming has been documented in the bocages of Touraine since the Carolingian era, as early as the 8th and 9th centuries. The cheese bearing the name of Sainte-Maure — a small town in Indre-et-Loire — is thus one of the oldest goat's cheeses in France.
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The distinctive hallmark of Sainte-Maure de Touraine is the cereal straw — traditionally rye — running straight through the entire length of the log. Originally, this straw served a purely practical purpose: reinforcing a cheese that was still fragile upon unmoulding, allowing it to be transported without breaking. Over time, it became a powerful emblem of identity. Each straw, roughly 16 cm long, is pyrographed with the producer's name, their approval number, and the name of the appellation, guaranteeing traceability and authenticity. In a remarkable human touch, the roughly six million straws etched each year are prepared by the craftspeople of the ESAT de Bridoré — a short-supply, socially responsible initiative employing people with disabilities, deeply rooted in the Touraine region.
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The PDO (AOP) area covers virtually the whole of the former province of Touraine: the department of Indre-et-Loire and neighbouring cantons of Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vienne. This gentle bocage countryside, with its well-watered pastures and abundant cereals and forage, is ideally suited to goat farming: the Alpine, Saanen and Poitevine breeds (or their crosses) are permitted by the specification. Today, the sector brings together around 125 milk producers, including some thirty farmhouse producers, for an annual output of more than 1,800 tonnes of cheese — a vibrant artisanal network centred around the town of Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine.
Appearance
A truncated cone-shaped log roughly 17 cm long, weighing around 250 g after 10 to 12 days' maturation (the specification stipulates a minimum of 100 g of dry matter per cheese). Characteristic grey-blue ashed rind (ashed with food-grade vegetable charcoal). Pyrographed cereal straw running through its entire length. Dominated by Geotrichum and yeasts, the rind may develop blue spots of Penicillium as it matures.
Aroma
Fresh and lactic when young; more caprine, earthy and complex with weeks of maturation. A light cellar scent.
Taste
Lactic, with neither excessive saltiness nor acidity, displaying dried fruit aromas and vegetal notes such as hay, intensifying with maturation.
Texture
White to ivory paste, homogeneous and fine, creamy or even slightly moist when young; becoming drier, sometimes crumbly, with age.
The specification imposes a minimum maturation of 10 days from renneting, but the cheese is enjoyed at various stages according to taste, up to 2 or 3 months' maturation or even longer:
supple paste, mild and creamy flavour, ideal for family tables
optimal balance between mildness and character, a perfect pairing with Loire wines
firm, dry paste, intense and lingering flavour, to grate over pasta or melt over a salad
a low dose of rennet (at most 5 ml per 100 litres of milk) to initiate predominantly lactic coagulation.
the cheeses remain in the dairy for two to three days before being transferred to the hâloir.
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Sainte-Maure de Touraine pairs with a dry white wine from the region — a Vouvray or a Montlouis-sur-Loire — or, for reds, with a Bourgueil, a young Chinon, or a Touraine Gamay. The log graces cheeseboards but also features in warm salads, baked in the oven over walnuts or figs, or simply spread on lightly toasted country bread.
Since: 1990
Area covered: Indre-et-Loire + neighbouring cantons of 41, 36, 86
Key requirements: Raw, whole goat's milk (Alpine, Saanen, Poitevine or crossbreeds), mandatory cereal straw with producer marking, mandatory ashing
Since: 1996
Area covered: Indre-et-Loire + neighbouring cantons of 41, 36, 86
Key requirements: Minimum 10 days' maturation, minimum 100 g dry matter per cheese (at least 45% fat in dry matter), traceability via pyrographed straw
EARL — family-run goat farm
EARL — family farm
Family farm
Large artisanal cheese dairy
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