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Anthony Gismondi on Wine
Thursday, June 18 2020

Le Ballot

By: Allison Spurrell
Distinctive looking, and tasting

Possibly one of the most unique looking cheeses made in Canada, with the flavour to match.

Cheese Name: Le Ballot

Origin: Made by Fromagerie Rang 9 in Plessisville, Quebec, by the Dubois Family. Their principles, determination, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, speak to the focus it takes to run a successful cheesemaking business in Canada.

Milk Type: Cow’s milk collected from the neighbouring farms. The family buys milk locally so that transportation is kept to a minimum, controlling their carbon footprint.

Style: This is a semi-firm, washed rind cheese.

Description: Le Ballot (hay bale in French) is a nod to the farming landscape surrounding the fromagerie in the Appalachian Mountains. The cheese is cylindrical in shape and is hand rolled almost like a cheese jellyroll, filled with a thin layer of ash.

Tasting Notes: Le Ballot has a woodsy taste and a lovely brown butter finish. Typical of washed rind cheeses, it is fragrant and a little earthy, but it has a unique texture perhaps due to the unique method of rolling the cheese before maturing it. 

Pairing: The fromagerie notes that it is nicely complimented by dried cranberries and toasted nuts in a salad. That makes sense to me, and I think other slightly sweet and savoury accompaniments like onion jam or cranberry chutney would also be very good. 

GOW suggested wine pairings:

 

Written By: Allison Spurrell
Allison Spurrell
Allison Spurrell

Allison Spurrell stocks the larders of the city’s finest restaurants and your fridge alike, through les amis du FROMAGE, cheese shops in the Kitslano and Strathcona neighbourhoods in Vancouver which she runs with Joe Chaput. Their shelves are filled with 400 cheeses, including local, raw milk French, Italian and other specialties. They also sell foie gras, pâtés, crackers, biscuits, varietal olive oils, vinegars and other specialty food items and their kitchen in Strathcona prepares popular frozen taken away meals. Les amis du FROMAGE has received Vancouver Magazine's Restaurant Award as a top food supplier to Vancouver’s best restaurants and hotels. Allison is a proud member of Confrerie les Chevalier du Taste Fromage de France. To buy cheese visit: les amis du FROMAGE in Kitslano - 1752 West 2nd Ave | Tel (604) 732-4218 or Strathcona - 843 East Hastings St | Tel 604-253-4218 | www.buycheese.com.