Pronounced /KROH-tan/, this French cheese is made from goat’s milk. Crottin is basically the French version of caprino, an Italian fresh goat’s milk cheese; and, is actually very similar to Bijou—another French cheese—likely because they are essentially the same. The only difference is that Bijou is aged. Also, Bijou means “Jewel” in French … and, actually, crottin is a fancy French word for manure—surely this appellation is intended to be endearing.

This cheese pairs well with white wines like Sauvignon Blanc—and, even sparkling whites will work great! I am not sure if it would affect my credibility at all if I tell you I ate a whole wheel of cheese with an iced hazelnut coffee from Dunkin Donuts … so, I wont! I, uh, paired it with, you know, one of them white wines. I am not stupid though; I gave myself a chance to actually taste the cheese with a clean palate, before I blew out my taste buds with sugar and coffee.

Crottin is light and fluffy and has a subtle lemony flavor. It gets this flavor from special yeast and mold cultures, which are introduced during the cheese making process. It is best to let it come to room temperature before eating. If you eat it while it is still cold, it will be brittle and not have the right texture.

Montchevrè is certainly not a local cheese shop, seeing as you can find their stuff in pretty much any major grocery store; however, regardless, they do a pretty good job with goat milk cheeses. I have also tried Montchevrè chevre—also delicious. There are a ton of great cheese recipes out there, and it seems as though many of the cheeses that Montchevrè produces are well suited to spice up salads and pizzas, even desserts! Check out this amazing Spruce Cornmeal Cake with Tangerine Goat Cheese Frosting.

I have mentioned them before, but I love my neighborhood Sullivan Street Bakery. Today, I was a little disappointed because they ran out of stirato, a long baguette, which was voted the best bread in New York. So, I couldn’t get a baguette, boo hoo, but I did pick up a ciabatta and a truccio doni, which is a green olive loaf. AND, I am so glad that I did, because the saltiness of the olive goes really well with the lemony flavor of the crottin.

As you can see, I finally opened my Brooklyn Slate cheese board. I think it looks nice in the photos. I actually have a ton of cheese and cutting boards—so many, that I am not quite sure what to do with them all, at this point.