Which French goat cheese from the Loire Valley has a distinctive log shape with an ash coating?

Sainte-Maure de Touraine is the Loire Valley goat cheese known for its distinctive log shape and ash-coated rind. It is produced mainly in Touraine, especially in France’s Indre-et-Loire department.

The cheese is made from full-fat goat’s milk and traditionally has a soft, ripened interior beneath a grayish rind dusted with wood ash. A straw runs through the center of the log during production, helping support the fragile cheese as it forms. Authentic AOC cheese carries a producer number and seal on that straw.

Sainte-Maure de Touraine received French AOC protection in 1990. A finished log is typically about 16 to 17 centimeters long and weighs at least 250 grams. Its ash and mold-covered exterior can look rustic, but the paste inside is creamy and develops a more pronounced flavor as it matures.

The cheese is sometimes confused with other Loire goat cheeses, including Valençay and Pouligny-Saint-Pierre. The central straw and elongated log shape are especially useful clues. “Sainte-Maure” without “de Touraine” can also refer to a less strictly regulated industrial counterpart.