Saint Agur Cheese

...and nor is there a saint called Agur)

This is a relatively modern cheese that was only developed in 1988 by a French cheese company (Bongrain). It is classed as a 'double cream cheese' as it is made from pasteurised cow's milk that is enriched with cream, and contains 60% .After production the cheese is aged for 60 days in cellars, during this storage the cheese becomes stronger and spicier.
Saint Agur is sold in pre packed ...
...moulds, making a blue cheese. Saint Agur uses the penicillium roqueforti. Next, the fresh cheese is removed from the mould, and salted with coarse salt by hand, gradually for 6 days.

After this the cheeses are put onto a rack and taken to the drying shed, which has a constant temperature ranging between 50 and 54°F. During maturing, the cheese is "pierced" at least three times in order to ensure the development of the blue ... more

ST AGUR BLUE CHEESE

St Agur is one of my favourite cheeses; it is SO good, if rather naughty!!!!

If you like a soft blue cheese, like Gorgonzola I'm sure that you will love this cheese.

St Agur is a blue cheese that is made from pasteurized cow's milk which comes from the village of Monts du Velay, in Auvergne region of central France. (Incidentally there is NO village called St Agur, in France - or anywhere else, and nor is there a saint called Agur)

This is a relatively modern cheese that was only developed in 1988 by a French cheese company (Bongrain). It is classed as a 'double cream cheese' as it is made from pasteurised cow's milk that is enriched with cream, and contains 60% .After production the cheese is aged for 60 days in cellars, during this storage the cheese becomes stronger and spicier.
Saint Agur is sold in pre packed wedges or in the deli section where it comes in 2 kilogram octagonal cylinders which make it easy to cut into wedges. It has no rind and comes in foil to prevent the cheese from becoming more blue.

MAKING THE CHEESE

The pasteurised milk is heated to 90°F; starter cultures and rennet are then added. When the desired consistency is reached, the curd is drained off, broken up and put into its octagonal mould. Penicillium is injected into the curd - these are the spores from a microscopic mushroom, which produce the internal moulds, making a blue cheese. Saint Agur uses the penicillium roqueforti. Next, the fresh cheese is removed from the mould, and salted with coarse salt by hand, gradually for 6 days.

After this the cheeses are put onto a rack and taken to the drying shed, which has a constant temperature ranging between 50 and 54°F. During maturing, the cheese is "pierced" at least three times in order to ensure the development of the blue colour at the centre of the cheese. The maturing of Saint Agur lasts for approximately 80 days. At the end of this period, the cheese is packaged in thin aluminium foil, which preserves the cheese and allows for a "slow maturing"

SO WHAT IS IT LIKE?

I think the nearest cheese to St Agur in taste and texture is Roquefort cheese ( officially the King of cheeses).

Amazingly there are over 80 varieties of blue cheese, don't worry I'm not going to name them all here , but St Agur is very much one on its own.

Let me try to compare St Agur to a few more well known blue cheeses.

Blue Stilton

St Agur is completely different texture to stilton. Even the creamiest if stiltons does not compare to the creaminess of St Agur, the texture is so soft and creamy.

Danish Blue

The texture is a little more like St Agurm, but still not as creamy, the colour of St Agur and Danish Blue are very similar, but again these cheeses are completely different.

Roquefort

At Agur is very similar to Roquefort but far less salty and milder in taste.

Gorganzola

Another very similar cheese to St Agur, but again less salty, milder and a little creamier.

Dolcelatte

This cheese is very similar toSt Agur in texture and colour, but Dolcelatte, is far stronger in tast and also saltier.

SO HOW DOES IT ACTUALLY TASTE?

This is such a delicious flavour, the butter milk and double cream makeas this a VERY creamy cheese, although it is very mild it has a buttery taste and is a medium strong cheese with a delicate sharp 'blue'flavour and far less salty than most blue cheeses.

TEXTURE

This is a very moist and creamy cheese, if you buy the pre-packed wedge, you can guarantee that as you open it the bottom edges of the cheese will break, tantalisingly away, urging you to nibble them.
This is so soft that it is actually spreadable and fairly hard to cut into slices.

APPEARANCE

If bought packaged it is served in a wedge shape plastic container, the creaminess of the cheese is very apparent. It is a creamy white colour with a blue/green vein marbled through it.
If purchased from the deli counter it comes in a characteristic octagonal shape, it is rindless and wrapped in thin foil.

WHAT WINE IS BEST DRUNK WITH ST AGUR?

This cheese is best served with a full-bodied red wine or Chardonnay, Syrah, Port, or Vouvray Moelleux.

USES

Obviously this is fantastic on crackers or crusty bread, but it also makes a fantastic addition to a salad (especially with chopped pears and walnuts), on a burger or in a soufflé.
I find it an excellent cheese to serve stirred into warm pasta to make a delicious sauce for a quick and tasty lunch.

Or how about making this recipe:

ST AGUR CAKE WITH SUN DRIED TOMATOES & PINE NUTS

300g Saint Agur
3 eggs, beaten
300g S R flour
125ml skimmed milk
125ml sunflower oil
20 sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, sliced
30g pine nuts
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7
Put the flour in a bowl, add the eggs and the oil. Pour in the milk and mix well (but don't over mix). Add the Saint Agur cheese, the pine nuts and the sun-dried tomatoes

Pour into a non-stick loaf tin and lightly flour sides of the pan and put in the oven 50 minutes.
Let it cool before taking the cake out of the pan.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE

Unfortunatly this is not a cheese that is good for any low fat or weight loss diet, but we all need a treat once in a while don't we!!

Typical values Per 100g
Energy 363kcal
Protein 16g
Carbohydrate 0.2g
Fat 33g

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

St Agur is available at all major supermarkets.
It is not always available in the delis but can usually be found prepacked in the chiller cabinet for around £1.67 for 125g.

It is also available as a spreading cheese in small tubs.

Go on spoil yourself!!

 

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