A pear- or cone-shaped soft cheese made with cow's milk, based on visually defective or flawed Maroilles or buttermilk mashed with pepper, cloves, tarragon and parsley. This gives it a greyish paste and it has a beer-washed rind coated with paprika to make it red. It is made industrially in the Avesnes region in Flanders. It is often hand-formed into a pear shape. This traditional table cheese is at its best summer, autumn (US: fall) and winter, is made with raw or pasteurised buttermilk and contains 45% fat. The curds are cooked and unpressed. It may be found in the following dimensions: 7.5 cm (3") diameter x 10 cm (4") high, weighing 180-250 g (7-9 oz). Affinage is usually from 2-3 months and it is a sharp, strong, piquant cheese, both in taste and in smell.
