Gaperon

A soft, elasticky cow’s milk cheese shaped like a dome, Gaperon was made since the 11th century in the Auvergne, originally from the liquid leftover from making butter, or buttermilk (babeurre, or gap or gape)—hence its name.

Flavoured with black peppercorns and garlic, it is tangy when young with a taste that grows more and more intense as the cheese ages. Farmers used to test whether it was ripe by putting a Gaperon on the ground and dropping a knife into it from eye level. If the knife went straight through, it was ready; if not, it was set aside on damp straw to continue ageing.