Saint Albray

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Saint Albray is a French soft cheese from Aquitaine, made with pasteurized cow's milk and invented in 1976. It is shaped like the head of a flower, with petals around a hollow center.

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Saint Albray Cheese

Lyokoï88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Key Facts

Country of Origin France
Specific Origin Aquitaine
Milk Type Cow's milk
Milk Treatment Pasteurized
Rind Washed
Texture Soft
Flavor Mild, sweet
Aroma Buttery, mild
Forms Flower-head shaped round; 'petit' version at 200 g (500 g in England, 180 g in Germany)
Age 2 weeks
Alternative Spellings St. Albray, Saint-Albray, St Albray

What is Saint Albray Cheese?

Saint Albray comes from the Aquitaine region of France. It was invented in 1976, so it is a modern cheese rather than an old farmhouse type.

It is made with pasteurized cow's milk and ripened for two weeks. The result is a soft cheese.

The shape is the giveaway. Each cheese is formed to look like the head of a flower, with petals built around a central disk. Once that disk is removed, the middle is hollow, which reads as the center of the flower.

A smaller petit version is also sold. It weighs 200 g, or 500 g in England and 180 g in Germany, and has a solid center instead of a hollow one.

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