How is Chabichou du Poitou cheese eaten? What cuisine of the world does he belong to, what recipes with his participation can you cook in your home kitchen? A detailed review of cheese: composition, manufacturing technology, useful properties and contraindications for use.
Chabichou du Poitou, or Chabichou for short, is a rather fatty cheese with a white moldy crust, which was first prepared in France. The product is very popular in its homeland due to its unusual mushroom and earthy taste, as well as sour aroma. Shabishu belongs to semi-soft and fresh varieties of cheese, because it does not fit under the press and ripens in just 7-10 days.
Features of the preparation of Chabichou du Poitou cheese
Shabishu is an artisanal cheese made primarily on small cheese farms in just a few farms. However, there are also several large industrial enterprises in France for the production of this product. Each cheese maker makes his own adjustments to the Chabichou recipe, so if you ask several manufacturers how to prepare Chabichou du Poitou, you can get quite different instructions for action. Despite this, the final product of production must always comply with the uniform standards indicated in the quality certificates issued by the French Ministry of Agriculture.
Large farms produce cheese all year round, while small cheesemakers produce the product only during the warmer months, when goats yield the highest milk yield. There is also an opinion that the taste of cheese directly depends on the diet of a horned animal: in the summer, the goat eats juicy and vitamin grasses, bask in the sun and gives milk rich in protein and nutrients. Large farms for the production of cheese receive high quality milk all year round, thanks to technologists who artificially enrich goat feed with all the necessary vitamins.
The main stages of cooking Chabichou du Poitou:
- Collection of high-quality goat milk with a high percentage of fat content. Scientists have shown that the taste of milk can vary depending on the breed of goat. Therefore, for the preparation of Shabishu, farmers always raise certain breeds of animals.
- Heating milk up to 20 ° C.
- Adding special bacteria to milk for its quick souring.
- Placing curdled cheese into tins to collect excess whey.
- Salting the cheese and placing it in drying rooms for maturation (minimum 7 days). As a result, cheesemakers get cheese heads with a diameter of 5-6 cm and a height of 6 cm.
Depending on the aging period, the following types of Chabichou du Poitou are distinguished
- Young product - only from 7 days to 3 weeks of aging;
- Ripe - infused in special cellars for 6 weeks;
- Dried - has the brightest and most memorable taste, ripens up to 2 months.
Interesting! In 2003, French cheesemakers from the Poitou-Charentes region produced 555 tons of Chabichou-du-Poitou.
Composition and calorie content of Chabichou du Poitou cheese
The standard composition of Chabichou du Poitou cheese contains only 2 ingredients: unpasteurized goat milk and table salt. Modern manufacturers often add special enzymes to the composition of the product, and also give milk to heat treatment. According to the state standard, the fat content of the product for any cooking recipe should be 45%.
The calorie content of Chabichou du Poitou cheese per 100 g is 330 kcal, of which:
- Proteins - 21 g;
- Fat - 27 g;
- Carbohydrates - 1 g.
As part of Chabichou-du-Poitou, vitamins of groups A, B, C, PP, E, H are present in large quantities. The product is also rich in useful minerals - Sodium (Na) and Calcium (Ca) are represented in the largest volume.
Interesting! Every year, French livestock breeders receive about 300 million liters of goat milk.
Useful properties of Chabichou du Poitou cheese
Many consumers call Shabishu the “stinkiest” cheese. Gourmets admit that the delicacy really has a specific smell and taste, which you simply need to get used to in order to understand its value. Nutritionists assure that every person should periodically include moldy goat cheese in their diet, because it is rich in substances that are useful for all body systems. Also, the product has the ability to remove radionuclides from the body.
The benefits of Chabichou du Poitou cheese lie in its following properties:
- It is quickly absorbed by the human body, saturating it with energy - it consists of fats that are not deposited into cellulite, but are quickly broken down and transformed into energy.
- It improves the intestinal microflora, strengthens the immune system, optimizes the work of the entire gastrointestinal tract - it consists of beneficial bacteria that take an active part in the breakdown of food. Thanks to this, the human stomach quickly copes with the digestion of what has been eaten and receives the maximum amount of nutrients from food.
- Has a beneficial effect on male reproductive function - due to the content of vitamin A.
- It helps to build muscle mass, strengthen the nail plates - Chabichou du Poitou contains a large amount of protein, which is why it is recommended for athletes, adolescents and people who regularly perform hard physical labor.
- Strengthens the bones of the skeleton - like other fermented milk products, Shabishu is rich in calcium.
- Improves the appearance of the skin - cheese saturates the human body with vitamin D, an irreplaceable healing substance for the epithelium.
- It normalizes the state of blood vessels - it contains a lot of useful nutrients, including copper, which contributes to the enrichment of body cells with oxygen, which in turn performs a preventive function against blockage of blood vessels.
- Has an antioxidant effect on the body - scientists say that white mold slows down the aging process of the body.
- It plays the role of a weakly acting aphrodisiac, improves the emotional state - thanks to the content of mold, as well as a substance called tryptophan, which stimulates the production of hormones of joy and pleasure in the human body.
Consumer advice! The cheese has a very delicate and brittle structure, so it is difficult to cut it into thin slices using an ordinary kitchen knife. Experienced chefs use a special cheese knife with an elastic stretched thread for this. If you put cheese in a salad, you can chop it up with your hands.
Contraindications and harm of Chabichou du Poitou cheese
Nutritionists recommend eating exotic Shabishu no more than several times a week and in small quantities. If you eat a delicacy every day, you can feel the harm of Chabichou du Poitou cheese. The product contains a large amount of salt (0.8 g per 100 g of cheese), so it can cause excess water retention in the body. As a result, a person is expected to experience edema, weight gain, heart and blood pressure problems. Do not forget that excessive salt content in the body leads to the development of joint diseases.
If you like salty foods, you need to drink enough fluids throughout the day and exercise a lot to allow the salt to pass out of the body in urine and sweat.
Cheese also differs from other foods that you can eat on a daily basis in its increased acidity and mold content.
Such a set of qualitative characteristics of Shabishu can be fatal for people with the following diseases:
- peptic ulcer;
- acute gastritis;
- various inflammatory processes in the intestines (especially in the acute stage).
Products containing mold, even noble ones, are prohibited for pregnant women and young children. Fungal microorganisms can provoke the development of serious pathologies of the fetus and the still fragile child's body. There have been cases where mold eaten by a pregnant woman caused a miscarriage.
Please note that blue cheese needs proper storage conditions. Otherwise, it can become harmful to human health. Experts forbid storing Chabichou du Poitou in a plastic container or in a plastic wrap. This type of cheese must constantly receive micro-proportions of oxygen and moisture. It is better to wrap the product in wax paper, place it in a glass container, or store it in its original packaging (if it is not plastic).
When buying cheese in a store, be sure to pay attention to the date of its manufacture and the integrity of the packaging. The maximum shelf life of Chabichou du Poitou should not exceed 42 months. If the manufacturer has indicated that the product can be stored for more than 2 months, then it contains preservatives and other chemicals.
Interesting! France is famous for its love of cheese making; at the moment, up to 400 varieties of this product have been created in the country. Most of the French cheese varieties are unknown abroad. These delicacies are produced in small quantities within one specific region.
Read more about the dangers of Pont-l'Eveque cheese
Chabichou du Poitou cheese recipes
In France, Chabichu is usually served with a certain set of drinks: white and red wine, as well as young white beer. Cheese can be present on the table during all stages of the meal: it is suitable for an aperitif, goes well with main dishes, and is indispensable for completing a cheese plate.
Several recipes using Chabichou du Poitou:
- Champignons with cheese filling … The recipe is for four people. Cooking won't take you more than 30 minutes of free time! Wash 500 g of champignons. Remove their legs and dry the mushrooms on a paper towel. Simmer the prepared caps a little in a little butter. Season the mushrooms with salt and a little pepper. Put the finished hats on a baking dish. Place a small piece of Chabichou du Poitou in each basket of mushrooms (you will need 1 head of cheese in total) and pour a drop of honey over the filling. Grill mushrooms or in a conventional oven until tender. Bon Appetit!
- Avocado salad with crab sticks … Wash 6 cucumbers and 1 pear. Cut the cucumbers and 6 crab sticks into slices and the pear into strips. Cut 100 g blue cheese into large cubes. Combine all ingredients and place in a salad bowl. Garnish the top of the salad with round slices of peeled avocado. Now prepare the salad dressing. To do this, mix 1 tbsp. l. olive oil with 25 ml of lemon juice. Add 2 chopped garlic cloves and 25 g green and also chopped dill to the mixture. Pour the prepared sauce over the salad and serve the dish to the table (without stirring the seasoned ingredients).
- Potato salad … Peel and place 900 g of potatoes in a double boiler, adding 1 teaspoon to it. salt. Cook the potatoes for 25 minutes. Grind, or better grind in a mortar 1 clove of garlic with a small pinch of salt, 2 tsp. granular mustard, 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice. Add a little more liquid to the resulting mixture - 2 tbsp. l. balsamic vinegar and the same amount of olive oil. In a separate plate, combine 150 g sour cream with 2 tbsp. l. mayonnaise. Gradually add the freshly prepared spice dressing to the mixture. Add 65 g diced Chabichou du Poitou and some allspice to the finished sauce. Once the potatoes are ready, take them out of the steamer and soak them in a dish covered with a tea towel for a few minutes. Then combine the potatoes with the prepared sauce and sprinkle with finely chopped shallots and celery (your choice). Serve with chunks of Chabichou du Poitou cheese.
- Salad with fried apples and cheese … Cut 1 apple into thin slices and fry on low heat for 2 minutes (pour butter and sunflower oil into the pan at a rate of 1: 1). Once the apples are tender, pour a little honey over them and sprinkle with a pinch of thyme. This will help caramelize the fruit. Place the apples on a dry plate and add 2 tsp into the pan with the remaining oil. grain mustard, a pinch of salt and pepper, 2 tsp. vinegar (wine). Put some green lettuce leaves on a flat salad bowl, 0.5 tbsp. crushed medium-aged goat cheese. Sprinkle everything with 0.25 tbsp. chopped walnuts and 2 tbsp. l. chopped chives. Put the apples on the prepared pillow and gently mix the contents of the salad bowl. The dish is recommended to be served immediately after cooking.
- Whip up vegetable salad with cheese … Peel and grind 1 beet and 2 medium-sized carrots with a grater. Sprinkle the vegetables with lemon juice. Add 1 julienned apple to the prepared ingredients. Sprinkle the salad with chopped goat cheese (300 g) and season with a few tablespoons of sour cream (your choice). This dish is perfect for a healthy dinner or snack.
For reference! Schnitt is a kind of analogue of the well-known onion. The plant is considered extremely beneficial to human health. In cooking, it is not the onion that is most often used, but the green leaves of chives.
Interesting facts about Chabichou du Poitou cheese
One of the divisions of the French Ministry of Economy took the quality of the Chabichou-du-Poitou under its control and awarded the product with PDO and AOC certificates. These documents represent a set of norms for the production of cheese: technology, geography of the location of farms / factories, quality characteristics of the finished product.
Chabichu is produced in the Poitou area, which is known to a large number of middle-aged and elderly Russians. It was on this land that cognac was invented, and the famous Russian TV show "Fort Boyard" was filmed. There are only 6 small cheese farms in Poitou, producing a moldy delicacy that is loved all over the world.
Not everyone knows, but mankind began to consume cheese around 7000 BC. Some historians believe that the first livestock breeders tamed wild goats and after a while learned how to prepare a nutritious product from the milk of these animals. There are opinions that the first cheese was made by nomads who expressed mare's milk, let it turn sour and dried the resulting cottage cheese in the sun.
Shabishu has not only a special taste, but also a rich history. According to French legend, the cheese recipe was invented in 732 after the end of the Battle of the French with the Arabs in Poitiers.
During this battle, the Arab soldiers were defeated, most of them were destroyed, few survived. Some Arabs who managed to escape returned to their homelands. There were also daredevils who decided to found a new house on French territory. They created families in Poitiers, raised cattle and made cheese from goat's milk, which is now called Chabichou-du-Poitou.
The product turned out to be especially tasty, because the lands of Poitiers have always been famous for good pastures, herbs and a favorable climate for raising goats. The Arabs called cheese the word "cheblis", which translated into Russian sounds like "goat". The name of the delicacy was transformed into a modern version when the Arabs shared the recipe for making cheese with local French peasants.
Chabichu became especially popular only in the 19th century, until that time it was used only locally by peasants from Poitiers. Nowadays, it is so popular in France that it was included in the guide to the Poitiers area, along with local famous architectural monuments, historic parks and extraordinarily beautiful gardens.
The popularity of Chabichou-du-Poitou increased in stages and, what is most interesting, was not always associated with the quality characteristics of the product. For example, in the late 1800s, French farmers faced an aphid invasion that destroyed most of the vineyards. The winemaking crisis in the country has provoked an increase in consumer interest in other products, including the Shabishu goat cheese. Another wave of increase in cheese production was triggered by the development of cooperative dairy farms in France.
