It doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but I still get people telling me they don’t like goat cheese. Really? You’re writing off the whole vast category? I’m pretty sure these folks mean they don’t like tangy, chalky fresh chèvre that smells like a goat barn. I don’t either. But who wouldn’t fall for the two lovelies pictured here? Both are French, nutty, mellow, marvelous and made from goat’s milk, and we’ll be tasting one of them at Cheese O’Clock on February 18.

I’m looking forward to introducing more people to Bethmale (above right) at that tasting. We’ll be showcasing “off the beaten path” cheeses from Europe, and it certainly qualifies. Bethmale (pronounced bett-mall) comes from the Ariège region of France, a remote, pastoral part of the Pyrenees near Andorra and the border with Spain. If you’re interested in rugged outdoor sports like hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding, you might have the Ariège on your bucket list. Otherwise, probably not.

The creamery that produces Bethmale—Fromagerie Jean Faup—is a small family business now run by the fifth generation. They don’t have a website, which tells me they’re more focused on making cheese than marketing it. For the business’s first 60 years, they made Camembert and sold it mostly to the French in North Africa. With Algerian independence in 1962, the creamery had to pivot. The family turned its focus to revitalizing vanishing Pyrenees cheeses, particularly Bethmale, a cow’s milk cheese named for a nearby valley. In 1988, Fromagerie Jean Faup introduced a goat Bethmale. It is easy to love.

Bethmale Chèvre is a roughly eight-pound wheel with a golden brine-washed rind. The ivory interior has many tiny pinholes—the wheel isn’t pressed—and an aroma of roasted peanuts, pale caramel and damp cave. The texture is semifirm, fudgy, smooth and silky; it literally melts on the tongue, leaving an impression of sweetness and salt. There is nothing remotely chalky or goaty about this chèvre; even resolute goat cheese avoiders should enjoy it. I’m guessing the age is three to four months.

In a story that is becoming too common, Bethmale Chèvre used to be a raw-milk cheese. Now you’ll have to go to France for that. “The Fromagerie Faup decided a few years ago they no longer wanted to sell the raw milk version in the U.S.,” said Stephanie Ciano of World’s Best Cheese, the importer, in an e-mail. “It was too great a risk and they did not want the costly experience of having issues with the FDA.” The wheels for the U.S. are now produced with pasteurized milk.

Basque cherry preserves are the traditional condiment for this style of cheese. Le Chaudron Basque’s version with Espelette pepper is excellent, but I found the jar in the back of my pantry and have no clue how it got there. Maybe a reader will know the source.

Somport Fermier de Chèvre (above left) is a raw-milk competitor of Bethmale, made nearby in the Pyrenees and named for the mountain pass that separates France from Spain. Fermier means the cheese is made on the farm with the producer’s own milk—what Americans call “farmstead.” It is a washed-rind cheese, like Bethmale, but the wheels are pressed so the interior is more compact. Pascal Beillevaire, the acclaimed affineur, selects wheels from four different producers and does the aging in the Beillevaire caves.

Compared to Bethmale, Somport is firmer, less creamy and perhaps more earthy and savory. But the caramel and nut aromas and finishing sweetness are comparable. It’s like a goat version of Ossau-Iraty, the Pyrenees sheep cheese. In two decades of writing about cheese, I had never heard of Somport. It’s a rarity, for sure, mentioned in no book I own. A representative of the distributor, Aniata Cheese, tells me that the only shop that carries it is the one where I bought it, Market Hall Foods in Oakland and Berkeley. Retailers, listen up: You want this cheese.

Fortunately, Bethmale Chèvre is more widely available. See sources below or join cheese expert Laura Werlin and me for Cheese O’Clock on February 18.

Retail Sources for Bethmale Chèvre

West Coast

Andrew’s (Santa Monica)
Cheese Plus (San Francisco)
Farmstead (Alameda)
Market Hall Foods (Oakland and Berkeley)
Milkfarm (Los Angeles)
Monsieur Marcel (Los Angeles)
Say Cheese (San Francisco)
Sacramento Natural Foods (Sacramento)

East Coast

Balducci’s (multiple locations)
Cavaniola’s (Amagansett and Sag Harbor, NY)
Chester River Wine & Cheese (Chestertown, MD)
Citarella’s Warehouse
DeCicco & Sons (Eastchester and Larchmont, NY)
Eli’s Market (NYC)
Fairway Markets (NYC)
Food Bazaar (Westbury, NY)
Igourmet.com
Ideal Cheese Shop (NYC)
Kamuela Liquor Store (Waimea, HI)
King’s Super Market (multiple locations)
McLean Wine Outlet (McLean, VA)
Mill Road Cheese Shop (Westhampton. Beach, NY)
Old World Food Market (Nyack, NY
Plum Plums Cheese (Pound Ridge, NY)
Secco Wine Bar

Time for Cheese O’Clock!

It’s a cheese party! Please join me and fellow cheese expert Laura Werlin for Cheese O’Clock, a four-week series of you-are-almost-there virtual tastings. Zoom registration is free, but we encourage you to order each week’s unique cheese collection and wines to taste along with us and our featured guests.

“Cheese O'Clock outdid itself. The quality of the product was world class stunning and we loved the evening.”
Ray and Diane A.

“Thank you for sharing your knowledge and passion in such an engaging, accessible and magical way.”
Suzy F.

Thursday, February 18
“Europe Off the Beaten Path” with WillaKenzie Estate
All details here

Thursday, February 25
“Italian All Stars” with Captûre Wines and Tenuta di Arceno
All details here

Thursday, March 4
“Wonder Women of American Cheese” with Cambria Winery
All details here

Thursday, March 11
“Aged to Perfection” with Galerie Wines
All details here