This post was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Odile takes a look at me suspiciously. There is somebody brand-new in her cowshed. She takes her location at her milking station, marked by her name plate, and is quickly signed up with by Noisette who appears indifferent to my business as she languidly chews some hay. The remainder of the herd trot in to line up next to them, heads held high, while farmer Philippe Galvaing rushes them from behind.
These are Salers cows, a type that flourishes in the mountains of Cantal, among France's many remote departments, in the south of the historic Auvergne area, where high, volcanic mountains have actually formed regional customs. I've concerned witness the procedure that enters into making the uncommon salers custom cheese. Just 7 manufacturers of this specific fromage stay– each just utilizes milk from their own single herd of Salers cows, which graze on the plentiful meadows in between mid-April and mid-November. What makes it additional unique, however, is that Salers cows will just yield their milk when their calf exists– so, twice-daily the farmers enable the calf to feed before connecting their own milking device. The cows produce simply 3,000 litres a year, a 3rd of which is taken in by the calf.
While it's certainly effort for Philippe and his household, the procedure has its advantages, as his child Louise describes. “Because we're manoeuvring the calves and the cows, there is a more powerful bond in between us. Often they're not extremely friendly to begin with, however the trust grows.”
At the end of the afternoon, the Salers cows at GAEC Galvaing Père et Fils wait before returning home for milking.
Photo by Clara Tuma
To develop a wheel of salers custom, Pierre Galvaing processes the dried cheese pieces into a round cheese (tome).
Photo by Clara Tuma
As soon as all the cows remain in position, Philippe lets the calves enter into the milking shed from their adjacent enclosure. As each little calf scrambles through eviction, he screams its name– the like its mom's– and it canters on gangly, not sure legs to the appropriate cow to feed. While Philippe and his boy Pierre proceed with the milking, Louise reveals me around the dairy and discusses how the cheese is made. The Galvaing household make simply one wheel of salers custom a day, albeit one 45cm thick and 48cm high. The initial step is to put the milk in a chestnut wood barrel called a gerle, from which the germs includes a nutty measurement. It's the milk that brings the many flavour. The volcanic soil implies the meadows have an unbelievable biodiversity, which infiltrates to the milk and after that the cheese. When Louise offers me a piece in their aging cellar, I'm amazed by the flower notes– it's smooth however has a genuine tanginess.
Outdoors, the views of the meadows around the farm are amazing;
