quicksearch
Ossau Iraty (OH-soh-ear-ah-TEE) is a delicious AOC, traditional sheep's milk cheese from the Basque region of the French Pyrenees using only unpasteurized milk.
This is a cheese made on many different small farms throughout the area, where the sheep still graze in open mountain pastures. It is generally aged at least 5 -6 months, and can be aged for as long as a year. The texture is firm but not dry, and the flavour has some of the sweetness of the sheep's milk and also a nice balanced nuttiness that comes through with the aging process.
There are a lot of cheeses made in the valleys throughout the Pyrenees, and they are all mostly made of sheep's milk. Many of the styles are younger, sweeter cheeses aged only a few months, such as Etorki, Baskeriu, Ostari etc. Ossau is definitely the most aged of the group, and therefore the most complex tasting. I personally love the cheeses from this area.
It is traditional to serve black cherry preserves with the Ossau Iraty, and there are many small producers of the preserves in the area as well.
As with most sheep's milk cheese, this one is a bit pricey. Always remember that sheep give much less milk and only in season. For this reason the milk costs much more to produce and of course then the cheese is also more expensive to make.
|
Cheese Name |
Ossau Iraty - AOC |
|
Type |
Firm sheep's milk - unpasteurized |
|
Strength |
Medium |
|
Origin |
Pyréneés, France |
|
Price |
$7.50 per 100 grams |
|
Weight |
4 kg |
|
Suitable Wine Types |
Aged red Bordeuax |
|
|
|
Suggestions from www.gismondionwine.com
The mother & daughter team of Alice & Allison Spurrell stock the larders of the city's finest restaurants and your fridge alike. They fill their shelves with over 400 cheeses, including local, raw milk French, Italian and other specialties. Browse their selection of foie gras, pâtés, crackers, biscuits, varietal olive oils, vinegars and other specialty food items. There is a full kitchen on premises where in addition, they prepare frozen ready to heat meals.
les amis du FROMAGE is popular with the trade industry and consumers alike. It has been awarded Vancouver Magazine's Restaurant Award as a top food supplier to Vancouver's best restaurants and hotels.
Members - Confrerie les Chevalier du Taste Fromage de France.
1752 W. 2nd Avenue - Vancouver, BC V6J 1H6
Tel: (604) 732-4218 Fax: (604) 736-0460
Operating hours:
Mon-Wed 9am - 6pm
Thur-Fri 9am - 6:30pm
Sun 9am - 5pm
Closed Holiday Mondays
518 Park Royal South - West Vancouver, BC
V7T 2W4 Tel (604) 925-4218
Operating hours:
Mon-Fri 10am - 7pm
Sat 9:30am - 6pm
Sun 11am - 6pm
Holidays 11am - 5pm
East Vancouver - 843 East Hastings St. Tel Under construction
Web: www.buycheese.com; www.lesamisdufromage.blogspot.com
Au Petit Chavignol - 845 East Hastings St.-Under Construction
www.aupetitchavignol.com
