Du Fromage

New tastes and scents are an important part of the travelling experience.

These days, the UK supermarkets offer consumers a wide selection of international products. But it is travelling that gives people the unique opportunity to try local food which you cannot get anywhere else. We take our food seriously when we travel; eating local food is crucial in knowing a country.

So, what is France famous for? Yes, cheese (fromage) and we love it. Since we landed in France, we have been buying different types of cheese in the supermarkets. Some of them we know and like, but we have still tried them here to see if they taste any different in their original home country.

Our cheese tasting experience has, so far, lasted eight days since we have travelled around France. It has been entertaining and delicious. The one disadvantage – apart from clotting our arteries – is that Dora’s fridge stinks. Every time we open it it feels like a punch in the face; it is that bad that Gary and I warn each other so that we can get out of Dora, if necessary, to breath fresh air. We fear, as they evolve, the cheeses might crawl out of the fridge on their own. Fortunately, they taste better than they smell.

Here are the ones we have tasted so far together with our opinion about them. We will update you on new cheeses we taste as we go along. So far these have been from supermarkets and we hope that we may get the opportunity to buy some from markets or farms.

1 – Camembert

We read a bit about this cheese on the ferry over to France. This delicious creamy cheese bears its name of the small village it was born – Camembert, in Normandy. Traditionally, it was made out of milk from the Norman breed known as ‘les vaches a lunettes’ (cows with glasses) because of their distinctive brown patches around their eyes; although these days, they mix this milk with that from other cow species.

Its story goes that in 1791 a young diary farmer’s wife, Marie Harel, developed the cheese from a recipe given to her by a priest fleeing the French Revolution. The farmer’s wife suggested a rind would help conserve the local runny cheese which enable it to be sold further afield. The recipe passed through generations. In 1863, the Marie’s grandson presented a plate of camembert to Napoleon III and he loved it, to the extent it became the most popular cheese of all of Paris and beyond.

As we know, camembert is now famous, mainly due to the characteristic wooden box that meant the cheese could travel far beyond the shores of France.

Suggestions given on how to buy your camembert:

• Look for ‘lait cru’ (unpasteurised milk- hmnnn very dangerous in this health and safety conscious world, this is probably banned in the UK).
• Look for ‘moule a la louche’ (ladled by hand- you wouldn’t want any nasty machine ladling your cheese).
• Take the lid off, touch and  sniff.
• Decide how ripe you like your cheese by looking at the date

As the cheese matures it becomes stronger in flavour and smell. The white bloomy rind, that is typical to Camembert cheese, is meant to be eaten with the cheese. So far, this is our favourite.

The cheese appearing in the photo is our second camembert. The first one we bought was made with pasteurised milk as a the evil one, with unpasteurised milk, wasn’t available. Both types are similar in flavour – probably unpasteurised milk slightly stronger– .We think that the difference lies more on the texture. The latter, although still smooth and milky is firmer, with a crumble line in the middle. The rind is also more solid.

On the nose you get odours of gone off milk, wax paper.

On the palate you get a rich and buttery flavour, with a nutty hint on the finish.

2 – Petit Munster Gerome

Similar appearance to Camembert cheese. A darker rind and body with an almost orange tinge. Creamy and slightly smoky on the finish, this lingers on the palate for some time, often days. As the cheese matures, the odour gets rapidly stronger, but it doesn’t really get any more powerful in flavour. This one is to blame for making Dora smell.

3 – Cantal Entre-deux

A hard cheese from the Cantal region. Strong and tangy with a faint hint of almonds and walnut at the end. Getting towards a Parmesan in texture, but not quite as rich. This one also grows in age, we didn’t let it go that far; we scoffed it pretty quickly.

4 – Reblochon de Savoie

Another creamy cheese, but not to the extent of the camembert. This has a lightly washed rind. The body has a soft centre. Traditionally made out of cow milk, full in flavour without being too strong.

5 – Morbier au lait cru

This was very disappointing. We chose it mainly for its faint blue line in the middle, hoping it had the saltiness and sharpness of the blue cheese; nothing like it. In our opinion, this tastes quite young, and it lacks flavour and character. It is still in the fridge, although it will go eventually – maybe when our cheese reserves run out – We are hoping that it may learn from its colleagues and grow to be a bit more robust. The advantage is that it doesn’t smell, even though we bought it a week ago.

6 – Mature Cheddar

And last, but certainly not least, our well-loved British mature cheddar which although not French, it is part of our cheese set. We bought a kilo of it in the UK for £3.00, the joys of Lidl. We have only gone through half of it, and we envisage we may still have some left over when we leave France. This is not because we do not like it, the sheer quantity scares and intimidates us.

Consistent and reliable in flavour and smell, it tends to have a sharp, pungent flavour, often slightly earthy. Ideal to have it on its own or accompanied with savoury crackers. Add a bit of pickles in a baguette for a traditional British ploughman. In my opinion, the best cheese for a cheese sauce as it melts nice and quick without losing its flavour.  We also continue to use it on pasta dishes. For Gary it is a connection to home.

What is your experience on these cheeses? Do you have anything to add or any you can recommend? This does not have to be just French, we would like recommendations for any countries?

SM