Saint-Marcellin PGI
Indeed, the archives show that goat breeding was highly developed in the region of Saint-Marcellin between the 13th and 18th centuries and that small round cheeses, made from goat's milk, were found on the various markets of the region. region.
At that time, this goat cheese was sold under the name of marcellins or marsollins. We owe the democratization and the massive shipment of Saint-Marcellin outside its region of origin to two factors: the first is the structuring of the collection of this cheese by the "egg cups", merchants of the 19th century who collected the products in the farms to go and sell them in the region's markets.
The second factor is the development of communication routes and in particular the Paris-Lyon-Marseille railway, which has enabled "egg cups" to go and sell Saint Marcellin everywhere in France, from Lyon, the hub of Saint-Marcellin.
The massive export of this cheese has created a growing demand. Quickly limited by the seasonality of goat's milk, producers in the region decided to use cow's milk to produce the cheese.
It is for this reason that today Saint-Marcellin is almost exclusively made from cow's milk.
