Banon Cheese

 (click on pics for larger image)

  (click on pics for larger image)

  (click on pics for larger image)

We were visiting a friend's farm in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.  They live just a kilometer or two away from the mountain-top village of Banon.  As we drove into Banon there is a parking lot, and immediately to the right is a fromagerie or cheese shop.  For three euros and change, we bought one of the most delicious cheeses to ever come out of France -- Banon cheese.  It is a quaint, goat's milk cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves.

This is what Wikipedia says about Banon Cheese:

Also known as Banon à la feuille, it is an unpasteurized cheese made from goat's milk and is circular in shape, around 7 cm in diameter and 2.5 cm in height, and weighing around 100 g. This pungent uncooked, unpressed cheese consists of a fine soft white pâte that is wrapped in chestnut leaves and tied with raffia.

The Provençal specialty fromage fort du Mont Ventoux is made by placing a young banon in an earthenware jar. The cheese is then seasoned with salt and pepper, doused in vinegar and eau-de-vie and left in a cool cellar to ferment. The concoction will last for many years becoming increasingly fierce in taste.

The cheese is runny right from the start.  The chestnut leaves were leaking when we bought it.  The store clerk who was the owner of the shop (and the owner of the bakery), licked her fingers after packaging our cheese.  It is that good.  The cheese spreads like a fine butter, and it is an earthy, delicious treat.

The cheese is dipped in brandy.  Here is some more of the Wikipedia article:

The affinage period lasts for two weeks, following which it is dipped in eau de vie and wrapped in chestnut leaves that have been softened and sterilized by boiling in a mixture of water and vinegar. The cheese is at its best when made between spring and autumn.
Banon was awarded the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) label in 2003.

If you ever seen Banon cheese anywhere, wrapped in chestnut leaves, you must buy some.  It is that good!