Kaempff-Kohler Cheese Shop

A little garlic volcano from the Limagne region

It is shaped like a small volcano, has a distinct character and a history steeped in the spirit of the Auvergne.

This is the Gaperon, an iconic cow’s-milk cheese from the Limagne plain in Auvergne. Now prized for its unique flavour, it also tells a story of simplicity, ingenuity and rural tradition.

The poor man’s cheese

In the 19th century, Gaperon was known as the ‘cheese of the poor’. Originally, the farmers in the Maringues region used ‘gape’, the Auvergnat name for buttermilk: a simple product that it would have been a shame to waste.

They simply added garlic and black pepper to create a nourishing, flavourful cheese full of character.

Once shaped, the Gaperons were hung on a string from a beam in the kitchen, often near the fireplace, to dry and mature.

A charming legend even has it that the number of cheeses hanging in a farmhouse was a way of gauging the farm’s wealth: the more Gaperons there were, the more butter the farm produced… and the larger the dowry for the daughter to be married off!

A small volcano in Auvergne

Its distinctive shape also has its origins in this traditional manufacturing process.

Moulded in a tea towel, the cheese is pressed and then drained until it takes on this domed shape, reminiscent of the volcanoes of Auvergne, and in particular the famous Puy de Dôme.

Nowadays, Gaperon is mainly made from cow’s milk. Fresh crushed garlic, salt and coarsely ground black pepper are mixed into the curd. After a few weeks to a month of maturing, a thin, white, mould-covered rind forms over the cheese.

And on the palate?

It truly captures the essence of the Auvergne.

Limagne garlic and black pepper offer bold, warm and slightly tangy notes. The milk and cream balance this intensity with a lovely smoothness.

When young, its ivory-coloured, supple and slightly grainy texture gradually evolves as it matures. Over time, it becomes firmer and develops more character: the Gaperon then becomes more robust, crumbly and assertive… whilst retaining that slightly melt-in-the-mouth quality that is the very essence of its charm.

A rich, authentic cheese full of character, which embodies a whole chapter of Auvergne’s rural history.

Le Gaperon, trésor gourmand de l’Auvergne et coup de cœur des fromagers Kaempff-Kohler, vous attend en boutique.