Sainte-Maure de Touraine AOC is a small log-shaped goat’s cheese from the Loire, weighing 250 g. The paste also changes with age from a smooth yielding fondant to a more dense, friable goat’s cheese. The AOC delimits production to the département of Indre-et-Loire and certain areas of Indre, Loir-et-Cher and Vienne.
 
The young logs are lightly dusted with salt and ash, which helps develop the greyish white and blue moulds on the surface. A piece of straw runs along the length of the chalk-white interior of the cheese giving structural integrity to the young logs, this also allows air into the centre of the cheese and aids ripening. Saint-Maure is at its peak from May till November. The cheese may be aged for 3-6 weeks. 
 
Young Sainte-Maure has a goaty aroma and a clean, acidic taste with a nutty finish. As the cheese matures it becomes saltier and develops a more goat-y flavour.