La Chalotterie: butter, from the exceptional farm to the plate

The cold is bitter on this January morning. Geoffroy Champin has already been on deck since 4 a.m. With his cap screwed on his head, the breeder walks the frozen fields to introduce us to his herd: he knows each of his cows by their first name. Curious but wary, they approach, ears pricked, and sniff us with the tip of their wet snouts. It is an understatement to say that its Jersey cows, a breed renowned for the high fat content of its milk, are treated with the greatest care at the Chalotterie farm, located a few kilometers from Melun, far from more intensive structures where animal welfare is not always a priority.

The quintessence of milk

Nothing predestined Geoffroy Champin, 39, to raise cows. He rather imagined himself as a winemaker, after a law course in agri-food, and a master's degree in Management and Vine and Wine Sciences. In 2009, however, he decided to start working on the farm bought by his father a few years earlier, which already included a horse boarding facility, a lodge and several hectares of unexploited land. The young breeder starts with four cows. His herd today numbers thirty-five (plus around twenty calves), whose feeding he monitors with the greatest attention. “In summer, the animals feed exclusively on fresh grass, that’s the best. In winter, I give them a mixture of forage grown on site, with alfalfa, hay and also a little cereal. » Every morning (even on Sunday!), milking takes place at 7:30 a.m. This will be the only one of the day, compared to two or three on certain farms. A choice that guarantees milk with a higher fat concentration and better quality. Each of his cows produces around ten liters of milk per day.

At the table of great chefs

The 240 liters of milk that he collects daily are then transformed into artisanal dairy products in his laboratory. Starting with a raw butter with a delicious nutty taste, obtained after churning crème fraîche (mixture of fresh milk and lactic ferments). These are the large blades of the stainless steel churn which will, gradually, after around ten minutes (and with quite a roar), separate the globules of fat from the liquid buttermilk. Depending on the orders, Geoffroy adds Guérande gray salt. Then he flattens it on a large plate, creating a giant lump of butter weighing twelve kilos which he then separates into smaller ones.

The butter is very yellow, even more so in summer when the cows are on pasture.

The butter produced at La Chalotterie is very yellow, even more so in summer, when the cows spend all their time in the pastures. “As it is unpasteurized, which means that the milk has not been brought to temperature, it contains more enzymes which act like good bacteria in our body. It's a truly extraordinary ingredient, isn't it? » he smiled. In his small workshop where the temperature does not exceed 18 degrees, he also produces skyr, yogurts, cream, mozzarella, brichon (a cheese halfway between brie and reblochon) then sold on site or delivered to several Amap and delicatessens, but also to high-end restaurants like Le Doyenné, in Saint-Vrain, in Essonne. Its butter has found a place of choice at La Tour d'Argent and the Ritz, two Parisian institutions. A little butter that has all the makings of a big one.

On page

“Butter, 10 ways to prepare it”
A little summary signed by culinary columnist Patrick Cadour. We discover 10 delicious recipes: snail butter with cumin, salted butter caramel, whiskey and ginger… Ed. de l’Épure, €10.
“Butter cooking is much better than slimming cooking” Franck Schmitt gives us 70 savory and sweet recipes, rich in good fats: veal escalopes with sage butter, Hollandaise sauce, Béarnaise… And tips for making puff pastry like a pro! Ed. du Gerfaut, €24.95.

Ferme de la Chalotterie, hamlet of La Goularderie, 77390 Ozouer-le-Voulgis.
On-site workshops to learn how to make cheese, open to the public upon registration. 01 64 07 60 68.

lachalotterie.fr