Chaumes is a cow's milk cheese from Périgord, made by traditional cheese-making processes. Translated literally, "chaumes" is French for stubble.
Based upon traditional Trappist-style cheeses, it is a rather popular cheese among modern French varieties, in particular with children. It is a soft pale cheese with a rich full-bodied flavour and smooth creamy and quite rubbery texture. Its aroma is generated by the cheese's bright tangerine-orange soft rind. The rind appears after several washings of the crust, along with brushing with some ferments.
Maturation of the Chaumes takes four weeks. It is used as a table cheese and also for grilling. It is also available in limited markets around France as a spreadable cream cheese, "Chaumes la Crème".
