French Cheeses – where they’re produced
July 4, 2009 by Helen Page
Filed under Food
Gourmet French Cheeses you could easily get addicted to:
A mouth-watering cheese tasting
Today, I was treated to a tasting of three French cheeses that were new to me. I must say that they were absolutely delicious and confirms that the French are undoubtedly the greatest cheese makers in the world.
The three that I tasted were:
Pont-L’Evêque is a small square-shaped flavourful cheese of a pale yellow color and with a white-orange rind. It was very creamy, but not too strong. This cheese is made on small farms, using rich salty and almost pasteurized cow’s milk.
The cheese takes the name of the village in Normandy where it is mainly produced. With its washed rind, Pont-L’Evêque may be the oldest cheese variety from Normandy that is still produced today. In the past the cheese went by different names, including Angelot and Augelot.
Fromager D’Affinos, produced by the Fromagerie Guilloteau company, is a double-cream soft cheese made from cow’s milk. It is similar to Brie in production, appearance and flavour. The company is located in the Pilat Regional Nature Park in the Rhône-Alpes region and has a reputation for its culinary expertise.
Saint Agur is a medium strong creamy blue cheese from Auvergne which is made from cow’s milk. The cheese is rather similar to Roquefort and has a very strong and spicy taste when it is ripe.
Of the three, I liked Saint Agur best as it was stronger, more complex than the other two, but really smooth. Saint Agur will now be one of the cheeses that will feature in our weekly cheese nights.
Where are these Gourmet French Cheeses Produced?
Having looked up the three cheeses above, I couldn’t stop as I now have a need to know where some other favourites come from as well.
Roquefort - A huge favourite of mine comes from Midi-Pyrenees. A true blue Roquefort comes only from the Rouergue and is aged in the caves of Cambalou. Roquefort has been described as the king of blue cheeses and I’m inclined to go with that.
Délice de Bourgogne – I could eat this forever! Soft and creamy and melts in the mouth. This triple cream specialilty comes from the Burgundy region. Rich in texture and taste, matured for 18 days, this cheese is related to Régal de Bourgogne.
Epoisses de Bourgogne is produced on single farm in Bourgogne. Interestingly, each cheese is washed by hand, using a small brush to spread the bacteria over and into the rind. Finally, it is washed with marc de Bourgogne spirit. This cheese can be eaten at different stages of maturation and is best accompanied by a fine Burgundy or a spicy aromatic white wine.
Saint-Marcellin is a farmhouse cheese made from the milk of cows that graze in the mountainous Dauphiné Province in southeastern France. These small rounds with natural rinds, turn from white to light brown as they age. Inside, the pâte is softer and mild, but rich.
Mobier AOC – This cheese is easily recognizable by the horizontal stripes (made from plant coal), through the cheese. Morbier recently became the 38th member of the AOC family. The mountain cheese from the region Franche-Comté had to wait for ten years for this moment. To meet the strict demands of the controlled origin term AOC, the national institute for controlled origin (INAO) needed the time to check if the cheese was able to meet its standards. I haven’t had this one for a while so it’s worthwhile giving it a try again.
Well I must say I really enjoyed my cheese tasting and being a cheese taster certainly ranks very highly in occupations that I would love doing. Imagine travelling all around France and other countries and doing cheese tastings and reviews. Oooh! a job made in heaven.
What are your thoughts on the subject?Food in Western France
Food in Western France: a brief gastronomical tour!
Normandy; Brittany; the Loire Valley.
Rouen; Caen; Bayeux; Cherbourg; Mont-St-Michel; St Malo; Rennes; Nantes; Angers; Tours; Saumur; Vouvray; Amboise; Le Mans; Chartres; Orleans.
Fruits de Mer, a favourite in Brittany
Food in Western France will get you eating and drinking with a vengeance! With such a long coastline, it’s to be expected that seafood and shellfish are popular in Normandy and Brittany (try the Belon oysters).
"Fruits de Mer" simply means a selection of the local seafood, such as oysters, mussels, clams, crabs, shrimps, lobster, even cockles and whelks, all served cold (sometimes on a bed of ice), with fresh rye bread and ideally, washed down with a bottle of chilled Muscadet (one of my favourite wines, actually, especially “sur lie“).
Other specialities include salt meadow lamb and poultry, and artichokes are particularly valued. Vegetables blended with pork in a hot pot is Calfedpotfe. Rilettes are pieces of pork or goose meat cooked slowly in lard then shredded and potted; perhaps an acquired taste, like tripe, another northern delicacy.
Crepes and Galettes
Crepes Suzette originally come from Brittany, but the region is also famous for buckwheat "galettes" stuffed with savoury mushrooms, cheese or eggs, as well as a truly amazing variety of crepes filled with sweets like chocolate or fruit (and don’t mention the cream).
Camembert
This is dairy country, and some of the best known cheeses come from here; Camembert, Pont l’Eveque, Livarot to name but a few, and the Loire is well-known for its goat’s cheese.
In the Loire Valley there’s plenty of fish from the river (although not so much now that it is dangerously low) and fried eel is a traditional dish in Nantes. Many fish dishes come in "beurre blanc", a sauce made of white wine, shallots and butter.
As far as drinks are concerned, still and sparkling cider is the local tipple in Normandy and Brittany, with Calvados (apple brandy) for something stronger. Dry white wines such as Muscadet, Vouvray, Pouilly-fume, Sancerre are favoured choices in the Loire. Want something stronger? The orange liqueur, Cointreau, is distilled in Angers.
Food in Western France is a fine introduction to eating and drinking the French way, a good start to your gastronomical tour!
Other pages about food in France:
Food in Northern France: Le Nord; Picardy; Champagne; Alsace and Lorraine
Food in Southwestern France: Poitou and Aquitaine; Perigord, Quercy and Gascony; the Pyrenees.
Food in the South of France: Languedoc-Rousillon; Provence; Cote d’Azur.
Food in Central France and the Alps: Burgundy and Franche-Comte; Massif Central; Rhone Valley and French Alps.
Other France pages:
Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre!
When to travel to France for your tour: weather and seasons
Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of France
Food in France: a brief gastronomic tour
Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online
Book your hotel in France online
TRAVEL TO FRANCE WITH US: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS
What do you think? Please comment below to tell me.Travel to France
May 23, 2009 by Tony Page
Filed under Destinations, Featured
Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre!
Paris: Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysees
There’s a lot more to France than Paris and Provence. Travel to France involves a journey into the whole French way of looking at the world, and life. Not for nothing do we use the french words “savoir-faire” and “joie de vivre”!
France lies at the crossroads of European culture
With the mediterranean influences of Italy and Spain in the South, and the more phlegmatic influences of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands in the North, France lies at the crossroads of European culture. A tour of France involves a continually changing landscape, not so much of a physical nature (though that is often true) but rather of traditions, architecture, food and wine, ways of life and even language.
An inexhaustible variety of landscape
Watermill near Bayeux
From the plains of Flanders and Normandy to the rocky coastline of Brittany, the historic Chateaux of the Loire Valley to the green farmland and forests of Bordeaux and the Dordogne, the mountainous Massif Central to Beaujolais, the Rhone and the French Alps, and Provence’s limestone hills to the sun-drenched beaches of the Cote d’Azur, the only stone-cold certainty about a tour of France is its inexhaustible variety. And the rich, memorable experiences you’ll encounter wherever you go in this always-surprising country.
Travel to France for a Europe tour with joie de vivre indeed…and that’s even without Paris!
Our France pages:
When to travel to France: weather and seasons
Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of France
Food in France: a brief gastronomic tour
Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online
Leave me a comment below to share your thoughts with me.
