For many Soumaintrain is the unknown little sister of Epoisses. From a broad point of view they come from the same area, Burgundy. But where Epoisses came with the monks and was made in the monastery at Epoisses, the Soumaintrain came because of the monastery as the locals had to pay tithe. Epoisses is about an hour’s drive south south east og Soumaintrain just across the border to the neighbouring department, Côte d’Or.
Soumaintrain – the village
Soumaintrain is a cheese wearing the name og the village from which it hails. Situated in the Yonne department, northern Burgundy, France. Half an hour’s drive north of Chablis. Or as they say in France, the village has donated its name to a cheese – “Elle a donné son nom à un fromage” – poetic.
The Pontigny monastery
As the story goes Soumaintrain was “invented” because the locals had to pay tithe to the Pontigny monastery. This monatery was a cistercian monastery founded back in 1114 as the second of four monasteries under Abbaye de Citeaux situated not that far away in northern Burgundy. However, the French revolution ended the Pontigny monastery in 1791. The church remained, though and is still there. Present day Munkeby Mariakloster just outside Levanger in Norway is a small monastery under Abbaye de Citeaux as well.
The cheese Soumaintrain is mentioned in written sources for the first time in 1631, but there is reason to believe the cheese has existed way before that. Fair to say it is only the last hundred years or so that the cheese has appeared outside the local area and only the last decades abroad as well but in modest quantities. It seems like Soumaintrain has always been overshadowed by Epoisses, and still is even though this is a cheese that stands securely in its own right.
Fermier or industriel
Can be both. In general terms it can be said that if it’s industrial it is pasteurised, and if it’s farmstead it’s made with raw milk. In between there we have producers like Gaugry south of Dijon, using raw milk even though they are a dairy of a certain size. In Norway you will find variant both from raw and pasteurised milk available. My cheese comes from a farm dairy in Soumaintrain, just outside the village centre. This village has about 218 inhabitants by the way. Ferme Leclere is the name using their own milk from Montbéliarde cows. The cheese has a IGP status. The difference between Soumaintrain and Epoisses is acidification time, what the rind is washed with (brine for Soumaintrain and and blend of brine and marc for Epoisses), and length of maturation. And origin of course, they cone from different places within Burgundy.
What does Soumaintrain taste like?
Depends on age. Does it not always depend on age when it comes to cheese? When young there are hints of barnyard, but mostly pure milk which comes with a fine sweetness. Mild and balanced. No dominating saltiness. Just a lot of good taste. And with age? Develops a bite, but still a very good cheese. Some like them fesh and mild, others with more age and a pungent taste.
This is a cheese from the French countryside and as such appears slightly rustic. Washed rind cheese were in older days often used as a meat substitute. Perhaps that was tne reason why this style of cheese was so popular in the monateries? The poor man’s meat they said in Normandie. You can very well use this cheese as a starter with a green salat and some chopped walnuts. And on a cheese platter or board of course.
To pair with
As said above, this is a cheese from the Yonne, a department just north of Chablis so choosing a chablis would be natural, but it should be a wine with substance and also some age. The cheese deserves a high quality wine. On the red side, if that is what you prefer, a Côte de Beaune, perhaps.