Gaperon
Encyclopedia
Gaperon is a French cheese of the Auvergne
region. The Gaperon has been produced for over 1200 years in Auvergne.
Gaperon is a cow's milk cheese flavored with cracked peppercorns and garlic. It has a fluffy coat and is shaped into a dome. The inside is ivory to pale yellow in color depending on the season. Gaperon is available all year round with no particular best season, principally because of the pepper and garlic flavoring. The flavor is tart when the cheese is young and under-ripe. As it matures, it develops a soft and buttery consistency and an intense garlic and pepper flavor.
country and originated from the plateau of Limagne
, between Clermont-Ferrand
and Vichy
in the Puy de Dôme region. It was originally made with the babeurre, which is the leftover liquid from making butter (buttermilk
). Milk which was left over after butter-making was mixed with fresh milk to make the cheese curds and further mixed with the local pink garlic and pepper. In the old days, the Gaperon was ripened in the fresh air as it was hung in the farmhouse kitchen or the storeroom.
Auvergne (région)
Auvergne is one of the 27 administrative regions of France. It comprises the 4 departments of Allier, Puy de Dome, Cantal and Haute Loire.The current administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and includes provinces and areas that historically were not...
region. The Gaperon has been produced for over 1200 years in Auvergne.
Gaperon is a cow's milk cheese flavored with cracked peppercorns and garlic. It has a fluffy coat and is shaped into a dome. The inside is ivory to pale yellow in color depending on the season. Gaperon is available all year round with no particular best season, principally because of the pepper and garlic flavoring. The flavor is tart when the cheese is young and under-ripe. As it matures, it develops a soft and buttery consistency and an intense garlic and pepper flavor.
History and making
Gaperon is a specialty of AuvergneAuvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
country and originated from the plateau of Limagne
Limagne
The Limagne is large plain in the Auvergne region of France in the valley of the Allier river, on the edge of the Massif Central. It lies entirely within the département of Puy de Dôme...
, between Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
and Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
in the Puy de Dôme region. It was originally made with the babeurre, which is the leftover liquid from making butter (buttermilk
Buttermilk
Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. It also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates where unrefrigerated fresh milk otherwise sours quickly...
). Milk which was left over after butter-making was mixed with fresh milk to make the cheese curds and further mixed with the local pink garlic and pepper. In the old days, the Gaperon was ripened in the fresh air as it was hung in the farmhouse kitchen or the storeroom.