Fleur du Maquis — Herb-Rolled Fresh Sheep Cheese

Fleur du Maquis (or A Fiurella in Corsican) is a fresh-pressed sheep-milk cheese whose exterior is hand-rolled in a mixture of dried maquis herbs and botanicals: rosemary, savory, juniper berries, coriander seeds, and chilli flakes. The paste is soft and mild, similar in texture to a young pélardon or tomme fraîche — the herb coating is the defining feature, presenting the entire aromatic vocabulary of the Corsican maquis on a single cheese. After rolling in herbs the cheese is aged for two to four weeks on wicker racks in ventilated cellars, during which the herbs adhere firmly and their volatile oils slowly penetrate the soft rind. The result is visually dramatic — a white cylinder studded with green, grey, and red botanical material — and aromatically complex, with the mild dairy paste providing a neutral canvas for the maquis herb expression. Fleur du Maquis is the cheese most often encountered by visitors in Corsican épiceries and markets — its visual distinctiveness makes it the island's most recognisable dairy product after brocciu.

Corsica — island-wide production; presented as the visual ambassador of Corsican fromage tradition.

Mild, fresh dairy paste; maquis herb exterior dominant — rosemary, juniper, savory; visually dramatic; aromatically the entire Corsican maquis in cheese form.

Herb mixture must include juniper berries — without them the coating lacks the resinous-aromatic depth that defines the product. The paste must be sufficiently firm before rolling (two to three days of draining) or the herbs embed unevenly and fall off during ageing.

Ovis aries — Corsican sheep breeds; fresh-pressed raw milk.