THE WORLD CAPITAL OF FOOD - CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette - page 231

of the most popular French sausages (www.roiduboudin.
com). House-smoked salmon, terrines, salads, cheeses and
dishes to take home and reheat.
7 e : L'Ambassade du Sud-Ouest; 46 avenue de la
Bourdonnais; tel: [phone]. Small shop carrying
regional specialty products, with a restaurant behind.
Sells foie gras , canard confit , cassoulet , wines and
tinned products.
8 e : Granterroirs; 30 rue de Miromesnil; tel: [phone].
Lovely specialty shop for foie gras , truffles, cheeses and
jams. Communal tables for a light lunch.

FROMAGERIES
Cheese is an important part of French cuisine and an
interesting conversation point at any table. Cheese is grouped
into families according to their production, texture, flavour
and nutritive value. They can be made from the milk of a
vache (cow), brebis (sheep) or chèvre (goat), each with its
own flavour; aged or not; made from whole or skim milk;
pasteurised or non-pasteurised ( lait cru ); hard, semi-soft, soft,
or one of the various stages in between. They may be white,
creamy yellow, orange or brown, and come in large wheels
or small disks that are sliced, cut or whole, sometimes with
edible moulds and rinds. Many are seasonal. This vast variety
of cheeses means, in fact, that most have not been exported.
Newcomers from countries in which cheeses are pasteurised
may not have tasted the most exquisite of the French cheeses,
and a very pleasant education is in store.
Cheese generally finishes its ageing on the premises of
the fromagerie (cheese shop)
but not at the crémerie . For
same-day eating, ask for soft
and semi-soft cheeses that are
bien fait (perfectly ripe); for
consuming later, they should
be pas trop fait (not quite ripe).
Every quartier has its own
cheese shops, each carrying a
slightly different variety.

Charles de Gaulle famously said:
“How can you be expected to
govern a country that has 246
kinds of cheese?” When he asked
his rhetorical question some 50
years ago, there were at least 250
kinds of cheese. Now there are
more than 400, ranging from the
ancient Roquefort (said to have
been a favourite of Charlemagne),
to Boursin, an invention of the
20th century.