Chaumes

Chaumes is a soft, washed-rind cow’s milk cheese from the Périgord region of southwestern France. Its distinctive golden-orange rind surrounds a pale, supple interior with a wonderfully smooth and creamy texture.

Although its aroma is unmistakably robust, the flavour is considerably gentler and more approachable. This makes Chaumes an excellent introduction to washed-rind cheeses, delivering plenty of character without becoming overpowering.

Tasting note

Rich, creamy and buttery, with mellow nutty flavours and a gentle savoury depth. The texture is smooth, springy and yielding, becoming increasingly soft as the cheese ripens. Its aromatic rind adds an earthy complexity, followed by a rounded, lingering finish.

Serve at room temperature with crusty French bread, grapes or fig chutney. Chaumes also melts beautifully and works particularly well in toasted sandwiches, on baked potatoes or over gratins.

A little history

Chaumes was created by Fromagerie des Chaumes in southwestern France during the early 1970s. Its name refers to the golden stubble left in fields after harvest—a fitting reference to the cheese’s warm, straw-like colour.

The rind develops through regular washing during its maturation, giving Chaumes its characteristic orange appearance and aromatic personality. It has since become one of France’s best-known modern washed-rind cheeses.

• Pasteurised Cow's Milk
• Perigord, France