Features of Pelardon cheese, how it is made. Nutritional value and vitamin and mineral composition. Benefits and harms when added to the diet. Dishes with this type of cheese and interesting facts about it.
Pelardon is a French soft cheese made from raw goat's milk. The aroma is sharp, inherent in all varieties of this group, intensified due to the lack of pasteurization. Taste - delicate, creamy nutty, salty; texture - homogeneous, soft; color - light yellow, "ivory". Young cheeses have no crust, mature cheeses are dense, grayish-creamy, with a thin layer of bluish mold. The heads are small, in the form of small cylinders, with a diameter of 5-7 cm and a height of up to 3 cm. Weight - 50-70 g. After consumption, a very pleasant aftertaste remains. The same feeling appears after walking along the seaside on a cool, windy day.
How is Pelardon cheese made?
This variety is produced only during the warm season. If the goats were fed with harvested feed or concentrates, the desired taste will not be obtained. Shepherds make sure that the animals only eat grass, branches and leaves of shrubs, as well as ripe chestnuts. If there are enough of these fruits in the diet, the finished product has a pronounced nutty flavor.
There is no classic recipe for Pelardon cheese. The variety is produced in small farms, and manufacturing features are passed down from generation to generation. The ferment used is the lactoserum enzyme, which is added to the whole milk after milking, otherwise it is impossible to curd the raw material.
Heating is carried out in a water bath, but the temperature is not raised above 27-32 ° C. Some cheese makers do without heating. The separation of the cheese mass is carried out using the infusion of whey from the previously prepared Pelardon, rennet or a complex of starter cultures. The raw materials are constantly stirred. Duration of curdling is 18 hours. Additional heating is sometimes required.
The whey is filtered through cheesecloth, and the curd mass is laid out by hand in molds, which are small cups made of food grade plastic with many holes. Once upon a time, small baskets made of willow bark, laid in a row, were used as forms. In some farms they are still used.
The molds are filled with curd mass so that it protrudes above the surface, and then compacted using oppression. Sometimes the heads, before being placed under oppression, are wrapped in a mesh fabric. During formation, dry salting is carried out - only with sea salt. Brine soaking is not carried out. The settling takes as long as it takes until the whey is completely separated.
After removing the liquid, drying is carried out - at a temperature of 18 ° C for 24-48 hours. Then the heads are still lowered into the cellar or placed in a chamber with a special microclimate: temperature - 10-16 ° C, humidity - 85-95%. Young cheeses ripen 10-12 days, older ones - up to 3 months. Turn over daily.
Cooking Pelardon cheese differs from other varieties in that after the heads are lifted from the cellar, they are dried again.
Mature products have a saltier taste, a piquancy is felt in it, the crust is dark, with fibers of blue mold. The pulp is crumbled. But the aroma is less pronounced, "nobler", the characteristic "goat" smell, which is clearly felt in fresh goat milk, is almost not felt.
Composition and calorie content of Pelardon cheese
The nutritional value of the variety is low; flavor additives and spices are rarely introduced into the feedstock. Milk quality is strictly controlled. Fat content - 40-45%.
The calorie content of Pelardon cheese is 280 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Protein - 28 g;
- Fat - 18 g.
The amount of carbohydrates is so small that they can be ignored. The maximum content is 0.7 g.
As part of Pelardon cheese:
- Retinol - has a beneficial effect on the visual system, regulates protein-lipid metabolic processes.
- Thiamine - breaks down acids and toxins that enter the body with food.
- Riboflavin - stimulates the production of hemoglobin and sugar processing.
- Pantothenic Acid - improves brain activity and tones the walls of blood vessels.
- Pyridoxine - stimulates the production of serotonin.
- Folic acid - accelerates the regeneration of the skin and is responsible for the formation of the neural tube in the fetus.
- Cyanocobalamin - if it is not enough, insomnia appears.
- Ascorbic acid - takes part in all metabolic processes.
- Iron - thanks to this substance, red blood cells, erythrocytes, are formed.
- Calcium is the main constituent of bone tissue.
- Potassium - maintains blood pressure at the same level.
- Phosphorus - distributes energy throughout the body.
The benefits and harms of Pelardon cheese for the body are determined not only by these substances, but also by acids - organic and fatty, as well as amino acids and cholesterol.
Compared to cheeses made from cow's milk, this product can be considered dietary. In addition, it has a high content of lactic acid bacteria, which are responsible for the functioning of the immune system. Especially there is a lot of flora of this type in the product, for the starter of which the whey left over from the preparation of the previous batch was used.
Useful properties of Pelardon cheese
The raw materials have a much lower allergic activity than cow's milk, so individual intolerance occurs less often. The structure of the milk protein of this product is similar to that of a human, so there is no load on the digestive system.
The benefits of Pelardon cheese:
- Accelerates metabolic and oxidation processes at all levels.
- Prevents the development of osteoporosis, osteochondrosis, arthritis and arthrosis, Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia.
- Increases bone strength, improves the condition of teeth, hair and nails.
- It accelerates the regeneration of epithelial tissues and delays the appearance of age-related changes.
- Creates favorable conditions for the life of lactobacilli, which are located in the lumen of the small intestine.
- Increases the metabolic rate, prevents the appearance of putrefactive processes in the intestines.
- Normalizes metabolic processes, stimulates fat burning.
- Improves the condition of blood vessels, cleans the lumens and prevents the formation of cholesterol plaques, slows down the onset of atherosclerosis.
- Increases the body's defenses, has an antimicrobial effect.
- Stops the loss of fluid by the body, normalizes the water-electrolyte balance.
- Due to its relatively high iron content, it reduces the likelihood of developing anemia and blood diseases.
Pelardon cheese is most useful for women. Regular use has a beneficial effect on the appearance, the production of female hormones is normalized. Accelerates recovery in inflammatory diseases of the urinary system, stops the development of vaginitis and vaginosis, suppresses the vital activity of the Candida fungus. The painful symptoms of the premenstrual period and the transition to menopause are eliminated.
Interesting facts about Pelardon cheese
Literally, the name of the product translates as “goat's milk cheese”. The history of the variety is quite ancient: mentions of it can be found even in the treatise of the ancient Roman erudite writer - Pliny the Elder. In his treatise "Natural History", he described the way of life of the Romans of all strata of society, what they ate, what dishes they cooked, what crafts they did.
You don't have to cook Pelardon cheese, like other varieties - by creating cooperative farms, collecting a few milk yields, purchasing special equipment. To make 1-2 heads, it is enough to have 1-2 goats. In addition, well-dried, matured heads have a long shelf life; they can be taken with you on long journeys.
The certificate was awarded to the variety only in 2000, since there is no single-type recipe. But by this time, it began to be produced on large farms, where they checked the quality and compliance with the specified parameters - taste, degree of ripening of the crust, and the composition of the sourdough.
Some farms produce Paraldon or Peraudou - varieties of the main variety.
Pelardon cheese is rarely sold in stores. It is purchased directly from farms, from where it is delivered directly to consumers or to French restaurants. Heads are not supplied for export.
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