Cooking and entertaining with sheep cheese

A sheep cheese is not an end-of-meal product reserved for big occasions. Fromagerie La Moutonnière sorts its catalogue into two very practical families: what gets cooked and what gets presented.

What goes to the kitchen

Three Fromagerie La Moutonnière products are built to be worked rather than tasted on their own.

• Plain feta — brined fresh paste, salty, with a mild crumbly texture. It crumbles.
• Marinated feta — the same feta, steeped in olive oil with fine herbs. The oil counts as much as the cheese.
• Ricotta — fresh whey paste, lightly sweet and semi-granular. It works as a filling.

Alongside them sits Royogourt, the creamery's sheep's milk yogurt, creamy and lightly sweet, offered in 500 ml and 1 litre.

What goes on the board

For a board, the idea is to cover several textures rather than several brands. The Fromagerie La Moutonnière catalogue lends itself to that, each paste having a distinct profile.

• Firm paste — Fleurs des Monts, uncooked pressed, aged three to six months, notes of flowers and almonds.
• Semi-firm paste — Bercail, supple and creamy, lactic flavours with a note of salt and hazelnut.
• Blue-veined paste — Bleu, a subtle blue, creamy and slightly crumbly.
• Soft paste — Foin d'odeur, mixed bloomy rind, aromas of cream and mushroom; Cabanon, a small fresh spreading cheese with spiced notes.
• Smoked firm paste — Le Will Fumé, maple-smoked, melting in the mouth.

Sein d'Hélène rounds out the board with a supple, smooth paste and a rich taste. Worth flagging to guests: it is the only product in the catalogue made half from sheep's milk and half from cow's milk.

Entertaining without assembling anything

Fromagerie La Moutonnière also assembles boards, from two-to-four people up to groups of ten and more, with an optional charcuterie supplement. Three conditions to know before counting on one.

• They are ordered 48 hours ahead.
• They are picked up only at the Saint-Ferdinand shop, never delivered.
• A deposit is taken on the wooden board and returned when it comes back.

Keeping what is left

Cheeses from Fromagerie La Moutonnière are sold and shipped vacuum-sealed. For storage specific to each cheese once the piece is opened, the creamery has not yet published its guidance — (819) 382-2300 remains the surest way to confirm rather than guess.