Abbaye de Belloc vs Ossau-Iraty
Abbaye de Belloc
Facts
- Milk
- Sheep
- Texture
- Semi-hard
- Type
- Pressed
- Rind
- Natural rind
- Country
- France
Abbaye de Belloc is a semi-hard sheep's milk cheese from France. It belongs to the French Basque tomme tradition, with a flat wheel, a natural rind, and a dense yellow paste. The name refers to an abbey, and the cheese was developed for that house before dairies near it kept the method. The flavor leans to toasted nuts, brown butter, and light caramel, with a gentle woolly aroma. It is a board cheese first, and an older wheel can also be shaved or grated.
Ossau-Iraty
Facts
- Milk
- Sheep
- Texture
- Semi-hard
- Type
- Pressed
- Rind
- Natural rind
- Country
- France
- Place
- Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Ossau-Iraty is a pressed sheep's milk cheese from Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in southwestern France. The name joins the Ossau valley and the Iraty forest, two landmarks in that Basque and Béarn country. Wheels are pale inside, with a natural rind that runs from orange-yellow to grey. The taste is nutty, lightly salty, and gently sheepy, without the sharp bite of a very old grating cheese. It is a mountain cheese meant for the table as well as the kitchen.