Goat's milk ice creams to discover the scents of the scrubland

The couple sells their products at markets. Like the one in Gignac on Saturdays. DR – DR

Les bâtonnets glacés ouvrent le marché du lait de chèvre à un large public. JM – JM

Les glaces fabriquées et emballées en laboratoire. JM – JM

Une large déclinaison de produits bio. JM – JM

Une production déclinée à souhait. JM – JM

Marie et Pierre sont installés à Puéchabon depuis 2021. JM – JM

La forme des fromages influe sur l’affinage. JM – JM

À la bergerie de l’Orée des chênes, à Puéchabon, Marine et Pierre ont lancé la fabrication de glaces au lait de chèvre.

They have a delicate scent of scrubland and goat's milk, enhanced with subtle flavors of chestnut, vanilla, coffee or even violet… In Puéchabon, Marine and Pierre have added a new activity to the Ferme de l’Orée des oaks, an operation which does not lack any. Because after the manufacture of classic cheeses or goat cheese, yogurts or dessert creams, organic, farmers have further diversified their production by throwing a tasty goat's milk ice cream or, rather, "goat's milk ice cream sticks", Marine corrects immediately. A must to savor the flavors of the Country in the heart of summer. Already specialists in the field, in Cévennes, in Saint-André-de-Valborgne where Marine had put down her livestock before the couple settled in Puéchabon. The new Cœur d'Héraultais now market their products in Hérault. On board their trailer, designed for the purpose, a sort of “Farm truck”, they are present at the markets of Gignac, on Saturday, or that of Lattes, on Sunday*.

Preserving the garrigue and its perfumes

Pasteurization, freezing, deep-freezing, unmolding, even coating, packaging… Ice cream making therefore completes the many tasks that these farmers are committed to with a certain ethic. Because if the ice cream making is somewhat part of the summer folklore, those who are, above all, farmers, do not intend to deviate from their vision of responsible agriculture and large-scale pastoral goat farming. Their herd, 120 head, grazes on an area of ​​nearly 400 hectares. Frequent plot rotations make it possible not to exhaust resources and, in particular, to preserve the growth of new generations of trees. A key issue in the heart of the Puéchabon holm oak forest. Reasoned management that allows "to avoid overgrazing and to properly manage resources", analyze Marine and Pierre. And a goat diet, mainly in the middle of the scrubland, crucial for the quality of the production… And, therefore, for the flavor of the ice creams.

Settled in Puéchabon since 2021, the couple is rekindling the flame of an ancestral activity that had disappeared from the village for around fifty years. The installation of young farmers in the village is unfortunately increasingly rare. It is nevertheless essential for the village”, measures Xavier Peyraud, mayor of the commune. The products of the Orée des chênes are also marketed at the Cabane paysanne in Viols-le-Fort. I subscribe to read the rest