Pico, Sour

Today there is no big wordy intro as there is a cheese party in the works at casa de Cheese Addict and there is much work to be done. That being said, happy Goaterday!
Today's French specialty is a goat cheese, surface ripened little guy that has an unusual shape for a goat's milk cheese; like someone sat on a crottin and squashed it a little. It's name in old French would mean sour, and truly Pico is not an easy cheese to get along with.

Origin: Ardeche/Drome, France
Milk: Goat, pasteurized
Rennet: Anmial
Affinage: Up to a month, ripens continuously
Notes: Mine was purchased pretty late in life, but not so late that undesirable molds were beginning to grow. It just meant that the creamline had just about gobbled up the actual cheese, bummer.

Thoughts: This small disk is deceiving as the amount of creamy, chalky goat cheese in the middle is maybe one tenth of the total volume. That being said, one wedge of this cheese gives quite the punch. The first taste is true to it’s name and seems to warn of the harsh ammonia-flavor of the lesser surface ripened cheeses but never gets to that point. Instead the creaminess carries through the whole bite and the flavor of the soft but ripened goat cheese holds steady as well for a more challenging and smelly but still delicious goat cheese. It's spicy, intense, and not for the faint of heart but a must for anyone wanting to live on the wild side of cheese. You know who you are.

Caution

If your midlife crisis involves selling everything and buying a goat or sheep herd with the intention of making your own cheeses and then moving into the woods and being a hermit with said herd.... you might want to give me a heads up because I'm definitely down for the simple life.