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What the heck is ... gaperon cheese?
 If
you poke around on the Tapino menu in the section titled “cheese,
olives & charcutière”, you will stumble onto a cheese
called “Gaperon”. So … just what is this stuff, Gaperon?
Gaperon is a cow's milk cheese that dates back to the Punic Wars (264-146
B.C.) from an area of France that wasn't even France at the time. It is
a small white cheese flavored with pepper and garlic. Originating in the
French region of the Limagne plain in the Auvegrne district, near the
middle of the country, Gaperon has been made and enjoyed for centuries.
Made with partially skimmed pasteurized or unpasteurized cow's milk and
at times buttermilk, Gaperon cheese is formed into baseball sized dome-like
shapes with flat bottoms that look like little igloos. A very pale off-white
colored exterior may be somewhat fuzzy from being inoculated with a stain
of penicillium mold (like Brie). This fuzzy or dry rind covers the inner
matte white paste of this cheese that is soft and buttery in consistency. The soft pressed
curd of the cheese is blended with bits of garlic and cracked peppercorns,
formed into it's igloo shape and then allowed to cure. As a unripened
cheese the cheese is very soft and the flavor is somewhat tart. However,
as it matures the cheese becomes firmer while the added garlic and pepper
enhance it, providing an appealing and distinct flavor to this variety
of cheese. The result is a cheese with a robust flavor that is perfect
as a snack or as an appetizer. We have it on the Tapino menu where others
might offer Brie. Also, because Gaperon has an interesting history involving
romance and marriage intrigue.
Known in Auvergne for at least 2,000 years, Gaperon comes from the word
“gap” or Gape” meaning “buttermilk” in the
local dialect. The original Gaperon was considered to be a low fat cheese,
because it was traditionally made with the whey leftover from butter making
(buttermilk) which is naturally low in fat. However, most contemporary versions use only whole milk. The fat content of the modern artisanal
Gaperon approches 50%. The cheeses are inoculated with penicillium candidium
to create a white mold on the rind. The effect of this on the stages of
affinage (aging) is really pronounced, developing a beautiful complex
flavor starting under the skin and moving in toward the center. Garlic
is plentiful in Auvergne hence the generous addition of garlic. Cracked
black pepper is also mixed into Gaperon. This cheese has an almost Brie-like
texture and can be eaten at any stage of ripening, it is all a matter
of taste. The basic difference between Brie and Gaperon is that Brie gets
softer as it ages, and Gaperon gets firmer as it ages.
The flavor of Gaperon is tart when young and under-ripe, but turns buttery
with ever increasing garlic and pepper flavors as it ripens. The texture
is somewhat course, but at the same time quite pleasurable. The flavor
presents a gentle acidity and mild tanginess. Often cured by hanging over
a wood fire, this cheese also presents a slightly smoky note. Any robust
red wine, such as Côtes-du-Rhône , Syrah or Cabernet, is a
good complement to Gaperon.
It is ripened in the fresh air, and in the old days it was hung from the
kitchen beams. There is an charming folk story that says one could tell
how rich a family was by the number of Gaperons hanging in the kitchen.
Butter was considered a source of wealth. And because the cheeses were
a byproduct of butter production, it stood to reason that the more gaperons
there were, the more butter there was. Lots of cheeses meant the family
was wealthy and therefore, the farmer’s daughters were more desirable!  Before
a proposal of marriage was made, the bridegroom’s family could estimate
the bride’s family wealth by counting Gaperons. Cheeses were sometimes
tied with yellow ribbons and offered as wedding favors or harvest season
gifts, a trademarked decoration still in use today. Almost all modern
Gaperons are marketed, tied up with a yellow ribbon. Other customs, however,
have changed. Gaperon is no longer made from buttermilk, or matured in
the farmhouse kitchen. In the modern world, they are made from whole milk,
and usually sit on rye straw in a damp curing room at the cheese factory
for one to two months. … … And, very few modern in-laws have
much to say about how much cheese a wife is worth.
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