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 Cheese from France

 

Brillat-Savarin

Brillat-Savarin is a soft, white-crusted cow's milk cheese with at least 75% fat in dry matter (roughly 40% overall), named after the 18th century French gourmet and political figure Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. The cheese was created in the 1930s by cheese-maker Henri Androuët.

Brillat-Savarin the cheese is a pasteurized cows-milk triple-creme brie-style specimen produced in Normandy. It is decadent indeed, delightfully creamy, with a bloomy natural rind. t is a triple cream Brie that is luscious, creamy and faintly sour. It goes well with medjool dates and also champagne.

 

Brie de Meaux

The production area of Brie de Meaux lays about 50 km (31 miles) east of Paris. Brie de Meaux is an ancient cheese. The oldest evidence is found in the chronicles of Charlemagne. The Emperor tasted the cheese in the small city of Brie in the year 774. During the French Revolution, Louis XVI last wish was supposedly for a final taste of Brie.  In 1814, the Prince de Talleyrand organized a European tournament during the Congress of Vienna. Brie de Meaux was awarded the first prize and declared "Le Roi des Fromages" ( The King of Cheeses). Of the many types, Brie de Meaux is probably the finest, and most widely the best known.  Brie de Meaux has the sweetness one would expect from a top world's cheese. Brie de Meaux delivers a very soft combination of hazelnut and fruit aromas.

Compte

On the other side of the Alps the French produce Compte.  Comté is an ancient cheese. It has been produced since the time of Charlemagne. Comté is still traditionally made in more than 190 cheese dairies, known as the "fruitières" in the Jura plateau. Comté has an ivory-colored paste scattered of holes the size of a hazelnut. Comté has a complex, nutty and caramelized flavor. As an appetizer, Comté is perfect cut into small cubes. Comté is a traditional fondue cheese. Comté can also be grated, chunked or melted.  Comté and wine: Dry white wines such as Sancerre, light red wine such as Beaujolais, Jura yellow wine!

Montbriac

Montbriac or Rochebaron is a wonderful French blue gourmet cheese that is very different from many of the softer brie-blue combinations available.  It is very striking on the cheese board with its soft, gooey texture, and blue veining outlined by the blue-gray color of the ash-covered rind.  The flavor of this attractive gourmet cheese is creamy, complex and satisfying while being not too sharp or aggressive. It is delicious on crusty bread and fresh fruit. Pair with Gruner Veltliner or Pinot Noir!

Fromage des Clarines

Fromager des Clarines is made from Mountain milk, yielding a smooth, very creamy cheese that is a must to serve as close to room temperature as possible, to release it's fresh white truffle butter flavors.  Fromager des Clarines is packed in a woodchip box like L'Edel de Cleron but is less pungent and more appealing to the less trained palette. Serve it right inside the box, lifting off the edible top rind with a spoon. Scoop out the gourmet cheese with a crisp bread stick or onto your favorite water cracker or baguette.

 

St Felicien

Saint Félicien is a French gourmet cheese that was made around 1950. It was originally made by a cheese maker in Lyon, and is now primarily made in the Dauphiné region of France.

It is made of cow's milk, is very rich, but as it is small, it is easy to eat. It is a semi-soft cheese that has a maturing time between 2 and 6 weeks.  Many people say that the St. Félicien cheese tastes similar to St. Marcellin, but slightly less strong, and tastes slightly nutty.   Saint Félicien cheese is a perfect end-of-the-meal cheese, and is generally served as part of a cheeseboard selection.

 

Roquefort

There are plenty of recipes in the world that use roquefort, because of its distinctive taste. For me the best is..natural. With a dry cracker or some bread and nothing else. One popular combination is to eat roquefort with celery. Mash some roquefort with an equal amount of butter. Fill the inside of the celery sticks with the mixture, and eat with pre-dinner drinks.  Roquefort Tangy, salty, pronounced taste. Not a shy cheese!

 

Epoisse

If you're searching for real Epoisses, you've come to the right place. Chambertin l' Ami is truly among the great cheeses of the world, and dear to our hearts and stomachs! These tangy yet smooth and creamy delicacies are are submersed in a salt water brine for a few weeks then washed in a local eau-de-vie for 3 more weeks. These hand made, raw milk Epoisses are packaged in a thin wood-chip box with tiny perforations in its plastic cover which allow the cheese to breath properly. The paste is a pale blonde and the skin is orange-red to a reddish-brick. The aroma should be outdoorsy, fresh, and strong. Up until recently these Epoisses have been illegal to export but we've broke through some barriers to bring these triumphant Burgundian treasures to your doorstep. They're 4 in. in diameter and from 2-3 inches high.   Wonderful with crusty bread or baguettes. Use to finish of a meal nicely with sweet dark skinned fruits. Most enjoyed with big and bold reds, preferably a Burgundy.

 

Link to serving suggestions!

Morbier

Named for a little farm town in France, this semisoft cow's cheese was originally made with left over cheese for personal consumption by the cheesemakers.At the end of the day the cheesemaker would take leftover curd from making Gruyère de Comté and press it into a mold. To keep it from drying out and to keep the insects away, he would top it off with a little ash. In the morning he would add any additional afternoon curd on top of the ash and you had Morbier. Today they make it from a single batch of milk and add a harmless vegetable product to give it the same appearance. It measures 15 - 18 inches in diameter, about 3 inches in height, weighs about 20 lbs., and has a minimum fat content of 45%.

A cows milk cheese that is aged 4 months. It has a washed rind and tastes like nuts and fruit. Morbier is a semi-soft cheese with a fresh hay aroma. You can serve it alone but it is great on sandwiches and melts great so you may want to try it in a grilled cheese sandwich.  With a bold & complex flavor, Morbier has a yellow-ivory interior and is wrapped by a creamy-brown crust.

Serve with a Beaujolais or Cotes du Rhone red wines or Sancerre and Muscadet white wines.

 

Fromage d' Affinois

Anyone who has spent any amount of time behind our cheese counter has doubtless encountered customers mistaking Fromage d'Affinois, for Brie. Just because it's made in France, from cow milk, soft-ripened, and covered with a soft, bloomy rind, does this mean it's Brie? No, Fromage d'Affinois is its own cheese, produced from milk that has been specially filtered to yield a silkier texture than Brie. Its sweet, mild flavor precludes the mushroomy earthiness normally found in its identical-looking cousin. Accentuate the lusciousness with a glass of fresh-berry Beaujolais. Most people think it is better than butter on bread!

 

Easy recipes from around the Globe!