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Ossau-Iraty Fermier
Country: France Grade: Unpasteurized
Cheese Type: Hard Milk Type: Sheep
Size: SKU: SKU16180
Weight: 0.50 lbs Available: 15
Your Price: $15.75 Quantity:

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Description:
Ossau-Iraty was granted its A.O.C. (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) in 1980 to protect and control its place of origin. Though, the A.O.C. is a bit confusing, in that it is for two areas, the first is Ossau in the Béarn region and Iraty which is nearby. They are both located in Basque country, in the Pyrénées Mountains of France. This unpasteurized sheep’s milk cheese is one of the oldest cheeses known in recorded history. Records of these venerable cheeses go back as far as the first century B.C. in the Roman market town of Toulouse. The milk for this cheese comes from, Manech and Basco-Bearnaise breeds of sheep. It is made in the traditional manner, in stone huts, high in the mountains during the spring and summer when the sheep migrate to greener pastures, in small farms in the valley or in dairies. After the milk is processed the curds are heated, molded, lightly pressed, salted and aged in cool caves for a minimum of 120 days.
Texture:
Ossau-Iraty cheese has a somewhat oily, granular hard texture. The natural rinds are dry, slightly thick, smooth and range in color from light orange-yellow to a gray-light brown and are not edible. The paste is ivory to a pale yellow in color and can have small cavities and irregular holes. The top and bottom of the wheel will have patterns pressed in them from the curing shelves they rest on.
Flavor:
It has a distinctive, sour, winelike aroma with a touch of the farmyard and a really tangy, spicy taste. Lemons and leaf mold remain in the lingering flavor which is sweet, salty and mellow. The cheese expresses its mountain terroir in the savory notes from the sheep’s milk and grassy pastures.
Pairings:
Excellent snacking cheese with vegetable crudités, olives, prosciutto or salami on a cheese board with apples, pears or grapes. Also a great addition to a tossed salad with ripe tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil and fresh cracked black pepper or on a sandwich with sliced Bayonne ham and saucisson sec. Not used much in cooking but is very good shredded on baked potatoes or in risotto. In its Basque homeland, it is prized, paired with the region’s cherry preserves; the combination is wonderful and a very different experience than when the cheese is paired with savory flavors.
Whites: Insolia, Ansonica, Arnies
Red: Malbec, Bonarda, Parraleta, Grenacha, Teroldego, Nero d'Avola, Tannat, Dornfelder, Cabernet Franc
 
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