Pavé de Chirac Cheese

Pavé de Chirac (aka “Briquette de Chirac”, “Brique de Chirac”) cheese is made from pasteurized goat’s milk.

It is a soft cheese sold in rectangular blocks that have a soft rind with spots of light-blue mould. Inside, the cheese is ivory white, and in texture somewhere between creamy and oozy, depending on the age. Typically it is aged for around 1 month.

This is actually a “new” cheese in France. It is a farmhouse cheese made by a “Monsieur Morin” and first promoted by cheesemonger Dominique Desserre who ran the cheese business “Au Gré du Lait” in Tours, France. ^[1]Au gré du lait, bio et agriculture saine. 15 June 2017. Accessed April 2022 at https://nouvellesgastronomiques.com/au-gre-du-lait-bio-et-agriculture-saine/

The cheese is made around the village of Chirac near Clermont-Ferrand in the Massif Central area near Puy in Auvergne, central France. ^[2]William. Un Tour de France des Fromages au Lait de Chèvre. Guide Resto. 24 June 2021. Accessed April 2022 at http://www.guide-resto.info/un-tour-de-france-des-fromages-au-lait-de-chevre/

This is not the same goat’s cheese as the one named Chirac made in Charente in south-west France.