Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(cheese shop) will happily let you sample before you buy, and offer helpful advice
on local varieties.
French cheeses are generally made using milk from cows ( fromage de vache ),
ewes ( fromage de brébis ) or goats ( fromage de chèvre ). Contrary to the stereo-
type, the French don't eat cheese with every meal - it's usually reserved only for
formal meals, when the cheese board customarily comes before dessert. Cheese is
always served with baguette, never crackers, and no butter.
There are a few rules to observe when eating cheese at the table: round cheeses
(such as Brie and Camembert) are cut into wedges like a pie - it's considered rude
to cut the tip off a wedge, so cut from the tip to the rind instead; hard cheeses such
as Comté are usually just cut horizontally in hunks; and when slicing blue or veined
cheeses, where the middle is the best bit, take a fair share of the rind with your
slice.
Types of French Cheese
» Goat's cheese (fromage de chèvre) French goat's cheese is creamy, sweet and
faintly salty when fresh, but hardens and gets saltier as it matures. Key varieties include
Ste-Maure de Touraine, Crottin de Chavignol, Cabécou de Rocamadour, and St-Marcellin,
a runny white cheese. A common French bistro dish is salade au chèvre chaud , in which
discs of goat's cheese are melted over green salad leaves.
» Blue cheese (fromage à pâté persillée) These veined, marbled, mature cheeses usu-
ally have the strongest flavour and fragrance. The most common varieties are powerful
Roquefort and the more mild Fourme d'Ambert.
» Soft cheese (fromage à pâté molle) Perhaps the classic variety of French cheese,
served soft, smelly and runny. Common types include Camembert and Brie (both from
Normandy) and Munster (from Alsace), but the most pungent by far is Époisses (from
Burgundy) - proper smelly sock stuff.
» Semihard cheese (fromage à pâté demi-dure) These cheeses have a squishy, semi-
firm texture, a thick rind and a fairly mild flavour. They are especially common in the Alps
and Pyrenees. Common types are Tomme de Savoie, Cantal, St-Nectaire and Ossau-
Iraty.
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