OSSAU-IRATY

Something was pulling me towards my favorite cheese shop. Lately they haven't had the selection as in times past, but I thought I'd check it out, and nothing beats their chopped salad, so even if the cheese didn't pan out, at least I'd get a tasty lunch. Walking along the cheese counter like a general reviewing the troops, I had almost given up on finding anything when a huge wheel of Ossau-Iraty nodded back at me. This was not an artisan Ossau-Iraty, but from the producer, Istara. Rumor has it that this mountain raw sheep's milk cheese has been made for around 3800 years. Shepherding their indigenous red and black-faced Manech ewes up and down the mountains that rise from the Iraty and Bearn rivers, those ancient cheese makers knew this was the ideal terroir for a hearty semi-soft cheese. Though ancient, Ossau-Iraty only got it's A.O.C. label in the 1980s where it stands along with Roquefort, the only other French sheep's milk cheese to earn the designation. Back at the local cheese counter, I asked for a 4" wedge which I happily stuffed in my purse while imagining a lovely afternoon munching on bits of this buttery, nutty cheese with a delicious and long finish. It didn't need bread, crackers or anything, tho I found some blueberries in the fridge that went along perfectly.