Brousse du Rove

Slow Food Presidium

France

Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur

Milk and milk products

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Brousse du Rove

Until the 1960s the sellers of Brousse du Rove cheese would walk through the streets of Marseille shouting “Lei brousso dou Rouvé!” in Provencal dialect to attract customers for their fresh cheeses.
Traditionally prepared using milk from the Rove goat, a rustic breed well suited to the dry hills of the Provencal interior, Brousse du Rove is a fresh unsalted cheese with soft crumbly paste. It is made by heating goat milk to 90°, not letting it cool beyond 70°.
A little alcohol vinegar is then sprinkled in and after a few seconds of thorough stirring, the mass coagulates. The fresh cheese is ladled into small conical containers and sold at markets, in local restaurants or to purchaser groups. It can be consumed for 4 or 5 days after production: its intensity and persistence are truly extraordinary for such a fresh cheese.
Brousse du Rove is now a victim of its fame and in the last years shops have sold versions of Brousse prepared using milk from other goat breeds and sometimes even cow’s milk. But in the area around Le Rove, from where the goat and the cheese get their name, a small resistance movement has formed to defend the original Brousse cheese.
In spring 2007, eight local shepherds decided to embark on the demanding process to obtain Registered Designation of Origin PDO status to protect their product.
The first step in drawing up production rules involved work to define the production area: from the small town of Le Rove it extends to the dry areas of the Bouches du Rhone pastures, the south Vaucluse and the western border of Var.
Establishing this boundary is important, because the distinctive flavor of the cheese is due to two factors:
• the characteristics of the breed: Rove goats do not produce much milk (from 250 to 400 liters per goat per year), but have a good yield of cheese (200 grams of cheese per liter);
• the diet of the goats: in scrubby countryside the goats eat tough plants—scorpion broom (Genista scorpius) and kermes oak (Quercus coccifera)—which give the cheese a distinctive flavor.
The rules will stipulate that Brousse must exclusively use raw milk from Rove goats left out to pasture for at least 6 hours a day throughout the year. This will provide a guarantee that the cheese is closely linked to its area and maintains its distinctive flavor. The producers obtained the PDO in 2020: the smallest PDO of France.

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As Brousse du Rove cheeses are highly sought after, shepherds never have any trouble selling all their products. The aim of the Presidium is to protect the market from imitations, such as cow’s milk Brousse and industrial versions, which are damaging the image of traditional Brousse du Rove. The Presidium would also like to attract new shepherds to the region. This is an important strategy that both defends the image of a local product with unique flavor and also indirectly ensures that the Rove goat and the associated traditional knowledge of pastoral agriculture are protected.
Slow Food has helped producers to raise awareness among consumers (especially in regards to the existence of imitation Brousse du Rove), and to better inform relevant institutions about the complex situation facing Brousse du Rove cheese.

Production area
Bouches-du-Rhône, southern Vaucluse and western Var Departments, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region

Presidium supported by
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region
Sandrine et François Borel
Les Roves de la Jacourelle
Route de Sainte Anne
La Roque d'Anthéron
tèl. +33 6 09 862 910
jacourelle@wanadoo.fr

Laurence Chaullier
GAEC ‘Lou Miss
Chemin de Caille - Pont des 3 Sautets
Meyreuil
tél. +33 6 16272412
chaullierlaurence@orange.fr

Natascha Duverdier
Quartier du mas de chevrier
La Boucabelle des Baux
Baux de Provence
tél. +33 6 07488914

Luc Falcot
La Cabro d’Or
2507 rn 8
Cuges Les Pins
tèl. +33 6 76701432
luc.falcot@free.fr
www.lacabrodor.net

Patrick Faure
873, Route de Gardanne,
Domaine Fontanelle
Mimet
tél. + 33 6 17984212
patrick.faure@live.fr
www.facebook.com/LesChevresDeMimet/

Marielle Lucas
Domaine de Pierredon
Mouriès
tél. +33 6 61201647

Eric Prioré
La Cabro Estelado
11, vallon des Fréguières
Septèmes Les Vallons
tél. +33 6 63454166

Presidium coordinators
Raoul Michel
tel.: +33 782435899
raoul.michel11@gmail.com

Luc Falcot
President of “Défence des Chèvres du Rove”
tel.+33 676701432
luc.falcot@free.fr

François Borel
President of “Groupement de producteurs de brousse du Rove”
tel. +33 609862910
jacourelle@wanadoo.fr
As Brousse du Rove cheeses are highly sought after, shepherds never have any trouble selling all their products. The aim of the Presidium is to protect the market from imitations, such as cow’s milk Brousse and industrial versions, which are damaging the image of traditional Brousse du Rove. The Presidium would also like to attract new shepherds to the region. This is an important strategy that both defends the image of a local product with unique flavor and also indirectly ensures that the Rove goat and the associated traditional knowledge of pastoral agriculture are protected.
Slow Food has helped producers to raise awareness among consumers (especially in regards to the existence of imitation Brousse du Rove), and to better inform relevant institutions about the complex situation facing Brousse du Rove cheese.

Production area
Bouches-du-Rhône, southern Vaucluse and western Var Departments, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region

Presidium supported by
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region
Sandrine et François Borel
Les Roves de la Jacourelle
Route de Sainte Anne
La Roque d'Anthéron
tèl. +33 6 09 862 910
jacourelle@wanadoo.fr

Laurence Chaullier
GAEC ‘Lou Miss
Chemin de Caille - Pont des 3 Sautets
Meyreuil
tél. +33 6 16272412
chaullierlaurence@orange.fr

Natascha Duverdier
Quartier du mas de chevrier
La Boucabelle des Baux
Baux de Provence
tél. +33 6 07488914

Luc Falcot
La Cabro d’Or
2507 rn 8
Cuges Les Pins
tèl. +33 6 76701432
luc.falcot@free.fr
www.lacabrodor.net

Patrick Faure
873, Route de Gardanne,
Domaine Fontanelle
Mimet
tél. + 33 6 17984212
patrick.faure@live.fr
www.facebook.com/LesChevresDeMimet/

Marielle Lucas
Domaine de Pierredon
Mouriès
tél. +33 6 61201647

Eric Prioré
La Cabro Estelado
11, vallon des Fréguières
Septèmes Les Vallons
tél. +33 6 63454166

Presidium coordinators
Raoul Michel
tel.: +33 782435899
raoul.michel11@gmail.com

Luc Falcot
President of “Défence des Chèvres du Rove”
tel.+33 676701432
luc.falcot@free.fr

François Borel
President of “Groupement de producteurs de brousse du Rove”
tel. +33 609862910
jacourelle@wanadoo.fr

Other info

CategoriesMilk and milk products