corsica,sheep,goat,cheese,tomme,brocciu,fromage-piquant
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Credit: Beth Rooney
Given Corsica's mountainous topography, it's no surprise that sheep's and goat's milk cheeses reign. The most famous of them is
brocciu, the ricotta-like cheese made from a mixture of whey, the watery by-product of the cheesemaking process, and whole milk—either sheep's, goat's, or both.
Brocciu, which is richer than ricotta, may be the Corsican cook's most cherished ingredient; the cheese is essential for a host of savory and sweet dishes. The island also produces a natural-rind semifirm style called
tomme, a generic French term for a disk-shaped cheese. The ones pictured at right are sold under the names
tomme de brébis (made from sheep's milk) and
tomme de chèvre (goat's milk). These are aged from one to three months and can range from soft and supple to tangy and crumbly. Developed more recently are the creamy sheep's milk cheeses called
brin d'amour and
fleur du maquis, both rolled in dried herbs and made primarily for export. Another Corsican cheese is
fromage piquant, made from scraps of long-aged
tomme whose sinus-clearing bite comes solely from fermentation.
See our article on Corsica, Pleasure Island »
This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #147
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