Agencies – Gaza Post
Heat halts French cheese production
The traditional cheese is a victim of the summer drought in France, where the production of the “Salers” variety was stopped due to a lack of grass for cows.
“Salers” is an unpasteurized Cow cheese made centuries ago in central France. It bears the seal of approval of the original French label (AOP), which makes it unique in the small producing region.
One of the Basic Rules for the production of this cheese is to feed the local cows on at least 75% of the grass from the pasture if their milk will be used.
The scorching temperatures this summer have driven most of the 76 farmers to despair that their pastures that were Green have turned yellow due to drought.
A farmer complains in his speech that there’s nothing left to eat, the terrain is so dry that in places, it looks like ash. It’s dust. A decision was made to temporarily halt production of the cheese hoping rain would come in September and restore the pasture.
A farmer complains in his speech that there’s nothing left to eat, the terrain is so dry that in places, it looks like ash. It’s dust. A decision was made to temporarily halt production of the cheese, hoping the rain would come in September and restore the pasture.
The head of the local group of sales cheesemakers said: “Salers is a seasonal cheese, made in the grass season. That’s one of the pillars of its identity.” He added without grass the taste of cheese would be completely different, which risked damaging its image.
The production of “sales ” has been completely stopped for the first time.
France is suffering from the worst drought ever recorded, with some villages in the south left without safe drinking water and dependent on shipments by truck, and farmers have warned of looming milk shortages in winter
In addition, there is a possibility of a decrease in the corn crop by 18.5% this year, and farmers said that crops of cereals, fruits, and other vegetables are suffering.
