Roves des Garrigues

Roves des Garrigues takes its name from the brown, long-horned Rove goats used to produce the milk for this cheese, and the Garrigue, or scrub on which they graze. Roves are bred for both their milk and their meat, making them a popular choice in this sparse landscape. Roves des Garrigues is made at Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort by the Fromagerie Cigaloise, although two or three fermier versions are also available in the area. Summer curd is frozen and used to produce cheeses during the winter months; they are never quite as good as the summer cheeses but still a treat. The cheese has a definite flavour of lemon and thyme, which is testament to the flora of the Garrigue on which the animals graze.