An Introduction to the World of French Cheese

First of all I want to wish you all a happy new year! I hope you had a great family/friend celebration just like me and that this coming year is better than the previous one. I want to apologize for the delay in the posts, but you know how it gets when you are on vacation reunited with the entire family. In any case, here goes another delicious post for cheese lovers.

French food is known to be delicious and pricey. Many French restaurants outside of France have expensive menus, exclusive wines, and gourmet cheeses. Going to a restaurant with so many choices in its menu can be a little mind-blowing, but today I will help you with your next cheese selection by giving you a brief description of some French cheeses.

Cheese: A Guide to the World of Cheese and Wine-making by Bruno Battistotti, Vittorio Bottazzi, Antonio Piccinardi, and Giancarlo Volpato, is an outstanding book that provides an excellent description of gourmet European cheese; although my copy is from 1983, this book is still a great guide for cheese-connoisseurs.

BRIE

As one of the most commercial of French cheeses, this cheese can easily be found in many big food-stores. Made from whole cow’s milk, Brie is creamy and buttery with a fruity flavor. Some versions of this cheese can be flavored with nuts and herbs. Brie is great for amateurs and it is great accompanied with walnuts, figs, and strawberries.

CHAMOIS D'OR

Similar to Brie, this fragrant cheese is made with cow’s milk enriched with cream. This combination makes the Chamois d’Or velvety and soft. Perfect with fruits and nuts.

COULUMMIERS

Coulummiers is a cheese in between Brie and Camembert in size and flavor; its taste is mild when fresh, but becomes acidulated when matured. This cow’s milk cheese is soft and delicious when accompanied with a chutney.

CAMEMBERT

Another famous French cheese. Because of its popularity this cheese is made all over the world, but the best Camembert is made in the Normandy region. A soft cheese made from uncooked cow’s milk, Camembert can be eaten with a savory jam.The Pays d’Auge makes a version of this cheese which is exquisite in flavor. Just like the Brie, this cheese is great for amateurs.

REBLOCHON

As one of the most expensive cheeses if genuine, this lightly pressed cow’s milk cheese has a subtle, fruity, and delicious flavor. Great by itself, on top of bread, or accompanied with melassa dei fichi.

CAPRICE DE DIEUX

60% of butterfat makes this cow’s milk cheese soft and creamy with a tender crust. Although its flavor its delicate, Caprice des Dieux has plenty of character. Because of its creamy texture, this cheese can be spread on bread and topped with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).

SUPREME DES DUCS

Very similar to the Caprice des Dieux because of its velvety and creamy interior. This cheese is fragrant and its flavor grows stronger as the cheese matures. Just like its counterpart, the Supreme des Ducs can be spread on almost anything and gets along with EVOO as well.

CHEVROTIN DES ARAVIS

Although not as famous as Brie and Camembert, this cheese is one of my favorites; this is a goat’s milk cheese with a mild flavor. Firm and pressed, the Chevrotin des Aravis is great when accompanied with honey, golden raspberry jam, and EVOO.

SAINTE-MAURE

Another goat’s milk cheese distinctive for its white or green mould. Like many goat cheeses, Sainte-Maure gets along perfectly with honey and sweet jams. This cheese is also great for people recently introduced to world of cheese.

PYRAMIDE CENDRÉ

Like its name implies, this cheese has a distinctive pyramid shape and an even more characteristic black coating. This goat’s milk cheese is rubbed with ashes to help lower the acidity of the cheese making it sweeter and easier to digest.

PYRAMIDE

Identical in shape to Pyramide Cendré, but without the black coating, Pyramide is another goat’s milk cheese which is soft and mild, but when matured for any length of time, this cheese grows in character and intensity.

CANTAL

If you love Cheddar then you will love Cantal. Thought to be the oldest French Cheese, this pressed and uncooked cheese has a very pleasant nutty flavor. Cantal is made with cow’s milk and has a hint of tartness and a pronounced bouquet; because of it, this cheese is recommended to cheese aficionados.

Great with a quince preserve.

ROQUEFORT

Another well-known cheese with a distinctive “blue-vein” appearance; made from ewe’s milk, Roquefort cheese is dense, salty yet buttery, but most of all, it has a distinctive ewe’s milk taste. The distinctive flavor of the Roquefort goes well with honey. Before trying this cheese, try one of the softer cheeses like the ones previously mentioned.

FOURME D'AMBERT

Its grayish-blue mold makes this cheese similar in appearance to Roquefort. Made with cow’s milk, the consistency of Fourme d’Ambert is firm, yet soft and subtle; it aromatic taste leaves a faint hint of bitterness which makes this cheese great with honey and fig jam.

BLEU D'AUVERGNE

Although Bleu d’ Auvergne has a greenish-blue veining of mould, this cheese is completely different to Roquefort in flavor and aroma; this cow’s milk cheese is firm, yet moist, fat, and creamy. Its flavor is strong and pronounced making honey and exotic fruit jams great complements for this cheese.

Because of their appearance and strong aroma, the last three cheeses are best after becoming acquainted with milder cheeses. The list I have given you is small compared with the vast quantity of French and international cheeses out there, but based on my familiarity and my personal experiences with this list, I can recommend the cheeses I have given you above. If you want to learn more about cheese pairings, thenibble.com is a great place to start. 

In the next post I will give you a couple of French Recipes which will make this gourmet cuisine available to you for a reasonable price.