Cabricharme

Some Context:

I try to use my limited 24 posts on this blog to cover classic cheeses: Roquefort, Gruyère, Parmigiano, but sometimes a cheese is so good that its lack of history becomes irrelevant, as is the case with Cabricharme.

I first fell in love with Cabricharme while I was cheesemongering. This cheese, which we only carried once in a while, distinguished itself among the other eighty or so varieties in the case because it was one of the only cheeses from Belgium. It was also a rare example of semi-soft cheese made with raw milk, and not just any milk, raw goat’s milk. The cheese immediately stood out and once I tried it, the rest was history.

Cabricharme is from La Fermière de Méan in Ardennes, Belgium. The goat’s milk used to make it comes from a single farmer who is part of a 30-year old cooperative that exclusively produces organic milk cheese. It’s washed in a brine for six weeks and aged for three months.

Procuring and Tasting:

You probably won’t find Cabricharme at many grocery stores. Unless of course you shop at Citarella’s, which is where I found mine. Your best bet is to check out a local cheese shop.

Before I dive into the tasting notes of Cabricharme, I want to offer a word of warning to my readers: avoid cheese wrapped in plastic for long periods of time. When I was a cheesemonger, my boss had us keep plastic off of our cheeses as much as possible. Of course, physical appearance is a key component of what sells a cheese therefore most of our cheeses were and are displayed dressed in saran-wrap. You’ll notice most shops display cheese like this. However, when we would provide a sample of cheese to a customer, we would always “face” the cheese, which meant we would cut a thin layer off of the paste that was in direct contact with the plastic. And when a customer bought a wedge, we would wrap the newly-cut piece in cheese paper, designed to imitate the conditions of a cellar. Another technique we practiced was letting cheese “breathe,” meaning we would let a wheel sit out of its plastic wrap for an hour or so at a time. Plastic is bad because it imparts an unwanted flavor into the cheese and because it suffocates the cheese, making it slimy and/or discolored.

I did not listen to my own advice when I procured Cabricharme. I was so excited just to see it for sale that I threw caution to the wind and purchased a plastic-wrapped wedge. Therefore, I am to blame for the below average taste and dull-looking photos of Cabricharme. But don’t feel too bad, I’ve had amazing pieces of Cabricharme in my time and drew from those to write this post.

Cabricharme is notable for its meaty flavor, its supple texture and its grainy rind. You can tell this cheese is made out of goat’s milk and not cow’s from the tangy zip you get. It’s spicy and fruity all at once and thick as can be. It’s almost akin to the heaviest cream cheese frosting you’ve ever had.

Pairing with Cabricharme:

Washed-rind cheeses often pair well with beer. I paired Cabricharme with a Belgian classic, a Leffe Blond, which turned out to be a perfect light, refreshing beverage to enjoy alongside a funky cheese like Cabricharme.

I didn’t pair Cabricharme with any food but imagine it would go well with sweet foods like fresh fruit or squash and sweet potatoes.

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