Brousse du Rove

Appearance & taste

Brousse du Rove is sold in the mould in which it is made: a cup shaped like a truncated cone, 85 mm high, 32 mm in diameter at the top and 22 mm at the bottom, with three holes in the base. After moulding, one cheese weighs 45 to 55 g. According to the specification, this shape makes it instantly recognisable and keeps the cheese from draining too much.

The paste is white, smooth and slightly shiny, soft, creamy and not grainy. Aromas of fresh milk with a faint “animal” character and of sweet almond dominate; depending on the day’s feed, such as kermes oak, rosemary or broom, and on the stage of lactation, further aromas are added. The cheese must be eaten very fresh and may be sold at most eight days after acidification. It has no off-white crust, which would be a sign of the beginning of ripening.

Production

Only whole milk from Rove goats kept in the area is used. The goats graze on at least 261 days a year, on average at least five hours a day over the year, in woods, garrigues and on non-irrigated meadows, with at most two goats per hectare. Hay and concentrates made of simple cereal and protein feeds are each limited to 0.5 kg per goat per day; compound feed is prohibited, as is genetically modified feed. Because hardly any cereals or hay grow in the dry, limestone area, this feed may come from outside; by the specification’s calculation, at least 70 % of the ration still comes from the area.

After milking, the milk is heated over direct heat to 85 to 95 °C and taken off the fire. At 65 to 75 °C a little white spirit vinegar is added and stirred in by hand until the typical flakes form, in which the solid components of the milk separate from the whey. The flakes are skimmed off immediately and filled by hand into the cups, which are also used for sale. Milk production, cheesemaking and moulding take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area is the western part of the limestone-rich Basse Provence, between the Mediterranean in the south, the limestone plateaus of the Var in the east, the plains of the Camargue and the Crau in the west and the ranges of the Alpilles and the Luberon in the north. Low limestone mountains alternate with sedimentary basins; only Sainte-Baume and Sainte-Victoire reach 1,000 m. Rainfall is 550 to 700 mm a year, the sun shines for around 2,800 hours, and the mistral blows often. On the limestone soils grows garrigue with kermes oaks, Aleppo pines, holm oaks, rockroses, broom, thyme and rosemary.

The Rove goats are kept extensively in the tradition of woodland grazing, which also helps to prevent forest fires. They eat the needles of the Aleppo pine and, as the only animals to do so, the leathery, spiny leaves of the kermes oak, along with leaves and acorns of holm and downy oak. So that they can get through the dense scrub, they keep their horns, which reach a span of up to 120 cm. The breed gives little milk, but it is very rich in fat and protein; according to the specification, the aroma compounds of the forage plants bind in the milk fat.

The keeping of Rove goats and the making of the cheese in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône are documented since the Middle Ages. At that time Brousse du Rove was the main source of income of the village of Le Rove and very popular in Marseille and the surrounding area; production spread from Le Rove. In the 19th century the cheese was described many times.