Picodon

This little cheese made with whole goat’s milk comes from Ardèche and Drôme. It is enjoyed at every level of maturity: from ten days when it is still white and moist, to semi-mature with a blue or gray bloomy rind, to a very dry mature cheese. Picodon is the first cheese to have orbited the earth in a spaceship when the French astronaut Jean-Jacques Favier took fourteen of the cheeses along for his trip in the American space shuttle Columbia in April of 1996!
The cheese has had a registered designation of origin (AOC) since 1983 and a protected designation of origin (AOP) since 1996.
There is also a very special type of Picodon called « affinage Dieulefit » which has undergone at least one month of maturation with regular washings. This process provides it with a unique, powerful taste.

The rind is has a fine bloom with a color that varies from creamy white to completely blue. The paste is bright white, smooth and dense.

The texture is fine and melts in the mouth, varying from soft to firm depending on the age. With maturity, it becomes dry and brittle. It can have an aroma of straw, or be musty and lightly goaty. Its flavors are well-balanced with pleasant notes of hazelnut and a goaty character that becomes more pronounced with maturity. The cheese can become sharp when it has been matured for a long time.