St Nectaire is one of those french delights which sounds very familiar, but it was a surprise to find that it comes from the Massif Central - indeed from the village of St Nectaire (63 Puy-de-Dome, Auvergne) south of Clermont-Ferrand.
The French are proud of their local produce and celebrate with festivals and competitions - and even "knighthoods" to protect and promote the products. In truth these are predominantly modern creations probably designed as a marketing ploy, but nevertheless they impart a certain ceremony and pomposity - and make for good entertainment. And besides, why not promote something which is special and unique to an area - and shout its virtues.
St Nectaire celebrates with a 2-day festival on 10 & 11 June 2006 when the village hosts numerous events including a gastronomic market and a competition for the best cheese.
(See www.ville-saint-nectaire.fr/)
St Nectaire certainly falls into the "smelly cheese" category - a softish textured round unpasteurised cow's mike cheese from Salers cows, which is matured for 6-8 weeks to develop its distinctive smell and complexity of taste - and it acquires a bloomy rind displaying white, yellow and red mould. The best are "fermier" - i.e. made in a proper dairy on the farm, although it is also produced on a more industrial scale for the supermarkets.
Cheesemaker Paul Dischamp has a good website showing the production process at www.saintnectaire.com/
For a really useful and comprehensive guide to French Cheese see the DK Eyewitness Guide to French Cheeses
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Also see our calendar of events in France
