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The French have always regarded cheese as essential, whether
they buy it on site (in farms), or in supermarkets. French cheese
is a traditional food that's ideally suited to a busy lifestyle.
Perfect for creating super-quick healthy snacks or delicious treats,
French cheeses are high in nutrients and big on flavour. Use them
in a pasta sauce, sandwich, tossed in a salad or as a topping on
a vegetable bake. Or, enjoy them on their own as a meal in their
own right.
| Beaufort
This remarkable cheese was already known
in the time of the Romans. It takes about 500 litres (130
gallons) of milk to make a Beaufort of 40 - 45 kg. The cheese
is made from the milk given by the mahogany-collared Beaufort
cows, called the Tarines or Tarentaises. This ancient mountain
breed originally came from the Indo-Asian continent. Beaufort
cheeses come in two versions, Beaufort d’été (summer Beaufort)
and Beaufort chalet d’alpage which is made in the mountain
chalets.
 
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Bleu
d'Auvergne
Bleu d'Auvergne is a traditional, farmhouse
and creamery, blue cheese. This is a moist, creamy cheese
with an even spread of veins. It's taste is tart and gluey,
with a hint of herbs and melted butter. With age, the crust
becomes sticky and eventually the interior gradually collapses
and the taste becomes more intense and spicy. This cheese
is delicious in salads with nuts or raw mushrooms. It can
be also used as a seasoning for pasta.
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Bleu de Gex
The official name of this cheese is Blue
du Haut Jura, it is also known by the name of Blue de Septmoncel.
The area of production for the cheese are the departments
of l’Ain and Jura. This is defined by the AOC of which the
cheese became a member in 1986. It is produced only from the
Montbéliardes or Pie rouge de l’Est cows that graze on the
mountain grasses and wild flowers of the Jura. The cheese
has a mild taste that hints of mushrooms, tarragon and fresh
milk. The "pâte" of these cheeses is soft and ivory
white and evokes the aroma of rich mountain pastures. Immediately
after milking, the milk is pressed in the mountain chalets
and the curd, lightly salted is placed in mould for 4/5 days
prior to maturing which is generally about a month. During
"affinage" (maturing) air is inserted with a syringe
into the pâte to allow the mould to grow internally. The difference
of this cheese from other "blues" is that it is
considerably heavier and the taste is less pronounced with
a perfumed and slightly bitter savoury. The local people eat
this cheese with boiled potatoes.
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| Bleu
Des Causses
A close cousin to Roquefort, the Bleu des
Causses is matured for 3 to 6 weeks in the natural caves of
the Gorges du Tarn. These caves are exposed to the north and
are ventilated by "fleurines", natural chimneys,
formed in the cliffs. It is these "fleurines" that
allow the cheese to blossom and develop the aroma of the region.
The taste is soft and savoury, reminiscent of summer pastures.
In the winter this taste is more pronounced.
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Boursault
Soft-whit, creamery cheese made from cow's
milk. This cheese has a mild flavour, reminiscent of Brie
and a slight acidity. It was named after its creator and maker,
Henri Boursault in 1953. Affinage of this cheese takes about
two months. The taste is smooth and almost buttery, with a
hint of mushrooms. The interior is solid rather than supple
and it has a refreshing citrus tang. The cheese has a cylindrical
shape with light, white penicillin mould rind with pinkish
tones. Boursault is also known as Lucullus.
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| Boursin
Boursin is a modern, creamery, fresh cheese
of cylindrical shape without rind. It is made with garlic
and herbs or even black pepper. It is a soft industrial cheese
with no affinage. The cheese was founded by Monsier Boursin
in 1957. It has a rich, sweet flavour with a hint of acidity.
This cheese is sold in an corrugated-foil wrapper and it is
used as a table cheese for spreading and baking. It goes good
with white wine.
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| Bresse
Bleu
The cheese of cylindrical type with soft-white
rind with penicillin mould that has aroma of mushrooms. It
was produced after WW2 in the province of Bresse in southern
France. The soft pâté is peppered with small patches of blue
mould. The interior is rich and buttery. These cheeses are
produced in various sizes and affinage takes two to four weeks.
Similar cheeses include Blue Brie and Cambozola.
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Brie de Meaux
French cheese's king of kings. Since the
Middle Ages, this cheese has captured the hearts of all who
have experienced its outstanding taste. In the 19th century
is was considered the finest cheese in Europe, thanks to the
French statesman, Talleyrand, who introduced it at a diplomats'
dinner. It is produced near Paris which has no doubt helped
its reputation. The geographical separation between the places
of production and "affinage" is a Brie tradition.
The pâté is compact and even textured. Its colour is pale
yellow, reminiscent of straw. Its rind looks like white velvet.
The taste is creamy and as the maturing process continues,
one detects a subtle, nutty flavour. In 1980 this cheese was
accepted into the AOC family.
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| Camembert
de Normandie
A very famous French cheese, Camembert dates
back to the 18th century and is named for a Norman village
in which there is a statue of the creator of this particular
variety (Marie Harel). Originally, this cheese was dry and
yellow-brown, but after a few modifications it became softer
and more earthy. In 1855 one of Marie Harel's daughters presented
Napoleon with a piece of that cheese, saying that it came
from village called Camembert. He liked it a lot and from
that moment Camembert became known by its contemporary name.
At the beginning of its ripening, Camembert is crumbly and
soft and gets creamier over time (usually 2-3 weeks). A genuine
Camembert has a delicate salty taste.
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| Cantal
The oldest of all French cheeses, dating
back to the time of the Gauls. The cheese is shaped like a
cylinder, one foot in diameter. There are two types of Cantal:
Cantal fermier (farmhouse cheese using raw milk) and Cantal
laitier (the commercial mass-produced version). Milk is heated
to 90 degrees F and curdled with liquid rennet. Curd is cut
into tiny pieces and when the whey has been drawn off, curd
is pressed and sliced, then moulded. Cantal is cured for 3
months at 50 degrees F. This cheese is the grandfather of
the cheeses from the Auvergne region. Over the years, its
reputation has appealed to more and more cheese lovers. The
form of the cheese is massive and dumpy, with a soft interior.
Auvergne is a region known for a thousand volcanoes, blessed
by mountain storms and summer sun, the pasture lands are extremely
fertile. Cantal cheese captures all the richness of these
pasture lands. A well-ripened Cantal has a vigorous taste,
whereas a young cheese has the sweetness of raw milk. The
"pâte" is firm and homogeneous, with a thick, smooth,
dry, grayish-brown rind. Its smell is of the good earth and
rich pasture lands. The taste has a tangy butter taste. A
fine example of a country cheese
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| Caprice
des Dieux
This cheese was first produced in 1956. It
is a modern, soft-white cheese of oval shape with a smooth,
velvety, pure penicillin rind. Affinage takes two weeks.
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| Chaumes
One of the most popular cheeses in France,
produced by the "Fromageries des Chaumes", one of
the most famous and the biggest cheese making company. The
soft rind is bright tangerine-orange and the interior is smooth,
supple and quite rubbery. The nutty, almost meaty taste and
aroma are mild. Affinage takes four weeks. It is used as a
table cheese and also for grilling.
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| Chevres
These cheeses are made from goat's milk.
They come in many sizes and shapes, such as round patties,
log-shapes, drum-shapes, pyramids, round loaves, long loaves
etc.; their textures vary from soft, but firm like cream cheese
to extremely hard. Chevres are excellent dessert cheeses,
often served as snacks or before dinner drinks. Goat cheese
is often served as an ingredient in many fine dishes.
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| Comte
Comté is a traditional, hard cheese with
similar characteristics as Switzerland Gruyčre. Produced from
the milk of cows that have been fed from the rich pastures
of the Jura mountains, no additives are mixed with the milk.
Comté is very creamy and has a piquant, yet sweet flavour.
The quality can be judged by the size and shape and condition
of holes ('eyes'). They vary from the size of pea to that
of a cherry. The Comté requires a long maturing period. During
this period of affinage its rind becomes a golden yellow to
brown and hardens.
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| Coulommiers
This cheese is Brie's little brother, some
people consider it the grandfather. It usually has a shape
of disc with white penicillin mould made from cow's milk.
It is smaller and thicker than Brie but otherwise possesses
all the characteristics of a Brie. This cheese can be either
fermier or industrially produced, though industrial version
lacks the depth of an unpasteurised cheese. The period of
ripening is about four weekend the content of fat is 40 per
cent.
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| Etorki
Flat
wheel-shaped cheese with reddish-brown, thin, natural rind
made from ewe's milk. The recipe is based on a cheese that
has for centuries been made by local shepherds. Etorki has
a bright yellow interior, rich texture and a nutty finish.
The sheep's milk gives the cheese burnt-caramel flavour. The
sheep milk is available only from winter to early summer and
cow milk is used for the rest of the year.
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Explorateur
The cheese was invented in the 1950's and
named in honour of the first US satellite - Explorer. It is
a soft-white cheese of cylindrical shape. The pate is soft,
unpressed and the cheese has a delicate aroma and salty, mushroom
tang. Affinage takes two to three weeks and a fat content
is about 75 per cent.
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Fougerus
This cheese belongs to the Brie group cheeses.
Commercially it was produced at the beginning of 20th century.
It is unpasteurised, soft-white cheese of disc shape with
penicillin mould rind. This cheese is very similar in texture
and taste to Coulommiers. The pate is supple and sweet and
has a salty taste. Affinage takes four weeks and the cheese
has a fat content of 45 - 50 per cent.
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Fourme d' Ambert
Fourme d'Ambert is one of France's oldest
cheeses (dating from the Roman period). It is traditional,
farmhouse and cooperative, blue cheese. Fourme d`Ambert is
more supple and dense than more blues. The flavour is savoury
and nutty. You can easily recognize it by its unusually tall
cylindrical shape. Today the cheese is produced with pasteurised
milk. The maturing process takes place in humid cellars. The
pâté is creamy with a lasting taste of wine. Extremely pleasant,
this is one of our Cheese Master specialties. The period of
maturing is 3 to 4 weeks and every week the cheeses are injected
by a syringe, containing Vouvray moelleux. Similar cheeses
include Fourme de Montbrison, Bleu de Montbrison, Bleu de
Gex and Bleu de Septmoncel.
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| Livarot
Livarot is one of the oldest cheeses in Normandie.
The cheese is circled by five bands of rush leaves that prevent
the cheese from collapsing during maturing. These five bands
are reminiscent of the five stripes, a colonel wears on his
uniform, for this reason the cheese is known as the Colonel.
Today, these bands are more for show than necessity in production.
In fact, industrial dairies replace the rush leaves with bands
of green paper. In the course of its maturing, Livarot is
collared reddish-orange with the natural taint of rocou, a
South American plant. This makes the rind smooth and brilliant.
Depending on the length of maturing, the pate is golden yellow
with a taste that is perfumed and slightly piquant. The lovers
of this cheese delight in its strong odour and full flavour.
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Mimolette
Creamery, hard, cow's milk cheese produced
in Flanders and Normandy. Basically, it is a matured Edam
that is allowed to ripen for around six month to nine. The
natural rind ranges in colour from yellow orange to light
brown and is pitted, dry and hard. Intensely fruity, it is
popular as a cooking cheese and as a snack to eat with a glass
of beer. When young (4 - 6 month), the cheese is firm compact
and slightly oily with a subtle fruity aroma and a mellow
nutty taste. Most of this cheese is, however, eaten when aged.
The bright, deep tangerine colour of the cheese is due to
the natural dye, annatto. Mimolette is also known as Boule
de Lille.
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Morbier
A semi-soft, unpasteurised, creamery, cow's
milk cheese from French-Comte. The yellow-brown or pale grey
rind is thick, moist and leathery. It has a creamy brown crust,
the interior is two layers of glossy, yellowish-ivory paste,
separated by a thin flavourless layer of ash. This separates
the morning milking from the evening milking. It is a creamy
cheese with a flavour of nuts and fruit and an aroma of fresh
hay. The cheese is elastic and springy, with a pungent, yeasty
aroma and a sweet, fruity taste.
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| Munster
Munster is a creamery, washed-rind cheese
made from cow's milk. It has a round shape with sticky, orange,
washed skin. The cheese is very smooth, fairly soft and has
a mildly piquant flavour that can become quite pungent with
regular washings. Munster is dark yellow with a strong flavour.
It should be served with dark bread and beer. Munster is made
with pasteurised milk which is cooled to 90 degrees F, inoculated
with starter cultures and curdled with rennet. Cut curd is
heated in whey for 30 minutes, stirred often to accelerate
whey run off. Curd is lightly salted, moulded and drained
for half a day and soon thereafter is sent to market. French
Munster is one of the few cheeses which ripen from the inside
out. French Munster has nothing in common with Domestic Munster
which is a white, mild cheese. In The U.S.A this cheese is
known as Muenster.
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Pave d'Affinois
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| Pave
d'Auge
Pave d'Auge, or Pave de Moyaux from
Normandy, is a piquant cheese with a long tradition.
Pave is the name given to the square cobblestones you
still see in old marketplaces in France. It is a semi-soft,
creamy cheese with its reddish rind. The cheese has
a mild and supple pate, with a relatively high fat content.
The maturation period is from two to three months.
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| Pont
l'Eveque
Named after a town in Normandy in France.
It is probably one of the oldest cheeses of this area.
It has a firm body, yellow colour and an edible crust.
The crust has ridges because it is cured on straw mats.
Pont-l'Eveque has a slightly mouldy, brown rind and
a soft, supple paste. The cheese must be regularly washed,
brushed and turned to encourage the special bacteria
to grow on the rind. The taste is deliciously savoury
and piquant, with just a trace of sweetness and robust
tang on the finish. It is also known as Moyaux cheese.
Pont L'Eveque is an excellent dessert cheese that goes
very well with a robust wine.
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| Port-Salut
This cheese is related to Port du Salut,
with which it is often confused. It is produced in Entrammes,
in the department of Mayenne in northwest France. The
rind of the cheese is slightly moist and coloured, with
regular traces of the plastic-covered cloth used in
production. It has a very faint smell. The pate is elastic,
cream-coloured, soft, and supple. Affinage takes one
month.
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| Pyramide
Named for their shape - truncated pyramids.
Ashes are rubbed into the surface to speed enzyme-lactic
acid reactions. It ranks among longer-ripening cheeses
that usually have an intense sharp flavour.
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| Raclette
Raclette is a cow's milk cheese that
has a light-brown rind and a firm texture. It has a
round or square shape with smooth, pink to deep orange,
slightly sticky, natural rind. Although the cheese has
a pleasant enough flavour, it is not special until it
is heated in front of a fire or under a hot grill. Then
the full nutty, sweet and slightly fruity aroma intensifies
and the elasticity of the melting cheese makes it truly
magnificent. It is used in a dish called raclette, the
name is derived from the French verb racler (to scrape).
Also known as Valais Raclette, the generic class name
is Walliser. It is a hard cheese with a subtle flavour,
good aftertaste and firm texture. Raclette is pale yellow
inside. Raclette is famous for a Swiss dish, made by
melting thin slices over broiled potatoes.
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| Reblochon
Semi-soft and surface-ripened Reblochon
originated from the Savoy mountain region. Reblochon
has a supple, creamy texture. The cheese has a warm,
yeasty aroma with the sweet flavour of freshly crushed
walnuts. The name of the cheese means "to pinch
a cow's udder again". This is because Reblochon
is made with the thicker, richer milk from the second
milking of Abondance and Tarine cows. Additionally,
the cheeses were made while the milk was still warm.
It is a well-proportioned cheese with a thin, orange-yellow
to pink, tight, velvety rind. Its fresh clear aroma
comes from the mould and it has a moist, smooth and
supple, fatty pate.
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Roquefort
Roquefort is considered as the "King
of cheeses in France". It has a tingly pungent
taste and ranks among blue cheeses. Only the milk of
specially bred sheep is used and is ripened in limestone
caverns. It has the cylinder-shape with sticky, pale
ivory, natural rind. Ripe Roquefort is creamy, thick
and white on the inside and have a thin, burnt-orange
skin. The ripening of the cheeses is in the natural,
damp aired caves found under the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.
It is the quality of the milk, the processing of the
curd, the adding of “Penicillium roqueforti” and finally
the ripening in natural caves that give us this unique
and remarkable cheese. The exterior aspect of a Roquefort
should be white and faintly shiny. The “pâté” should
be cohesive, at the same time slightly crumbly. This
cheese has a distinct bouquet and a flavour that combines
the sweet burnt-caramel taste of sheep's milk with the
sharp, metallic tang of the blue mould. Also frequently
added in dressings and salads.
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| Roule
This cheese has been created recently
by Fromagerie Triballat in Loire. It is usually produced
in logs of various sizes, rolled in fresh herbs. The
cheese has a soft texture and refreshing herb and garlic
layer. It is very tasty with beer or glass of wine.
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| Saint-Marcellin
Saint-Marcelin is a creamery, unpasteurised,
natural-rind cheese made from cow's or goat's milk.
It usually has a round shape with wrinkly, natural rind,
dusted with a coating of white yeast. The texture of
the young cheese varies from firm to very runny and
it has a mild, slightly salty flavour. When ripe, it
is irresistible with slightly yeasty taste. It typically
has a beige crust with blue mould and a soft, beige
creamy interior. It has an intensely rustic, nutty,
fruity flavour.
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| Saint-Nectaire
A semi-soft, cow's milk, disc-shaped
cheese from Auvergne. The leathery, natural rind is
pinkish, with a covering of pale grey mould. This cheese
is cured on a bed of straw for eight weeks and seems
to absorb some of its earthy, pastoral aroma. It has
a smooth, reddish rind, ivory to straw coloured interior,
soft and supple texture. It is an earthy cheese with
a fruity flavour and a grassy aroma. One of the characteristic
features of this cheese is its distinctive smell which
could be described as old the smell of a dark and humid
cellar of rye straw on which it ripened and of mould.
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| Saint-Paulin
Saint-Paulin is a creamery, semi-soft
cheese made from cow's milk. It usually has a wheel-shape.
The thin, washed rind is smooth and leathery. It ranges
in colour from pale yellow to bright mandarin orange.
It was the first French cheese produced from pasteurised
milk and has remained so. St. Paulin (also known as
Port Salut, a licensed name) is a mild and very pleasing
dessert or table cheese, originally made by Trappist
Monks. St. Paulin is creamy and butter-like, yet firm
enough for slicing. However, beware imitations that
use a plastic inedible rind. St. Paulin goes well with
fruit and light wine.
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St. Agur
A medium strong creamy blue cheese, made from cow's
milk in Auvergne. It is excellent with full bodied red
wines, great on bread for a snack or in a salad. Hard
to find and extremely likable. Could be used as a more
delicate substitute for Gorgonzola in sauces when Dolcelatte
is out of season or too strong. The cheese has a very
strong and spicy taste when ripens.
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Tomme de Savoie
A semi firm, disc-shaped, cow's milk cheese from Savoie
in the French Alps. It has a distinct, thick, grey-brown
rind with a beige or straw coloured paste. It has a
slightly salty, mild but savoury taste with an aroma
reminiscent of a cheese cellar. Tomme de Savoie is often
made with skim milk after the cream has been used to
make butter. This is why Tommes are traditionally low
in fat content (20-40 %). There are many varieties of
Tommes and are often named after the village where they
are produced. Tommes, made in winter are from the milk
of cows that are fed hay very different from the Tommes
made with the summer milk from cows that gaze in the
high mountain pastures. The maturing process often takes
several months which gives the cheese a thick rind with
a rustic appearance. It is grey in colour with patches
of yellow or red moulding. The taste is soft and fruity
and occasionally one can detect a subtle flavour of
grass.
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| Tommes
Tomme means "cheese" and is the prefix for
a series of cheeses made in the Savoy mountain region.
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Touree de L'Aubier
Touree de L'Aubier is a French cheese that comes from
Normandy region. It is a modern, creamery, washed-rind
cheese made from cow's milk. The cheese is creamy and
sweet and is similar to French Mont d'Or.
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Vieux Pane
This cheese is usually produced in the shape of square
and it is wrapped in three layers of wax paper. It is
made from the sheep's milk and has salty, spicy taste.
Corsicans eat it spread on bread with a glass of white
wine or spirits. The period of ripening is about three
months and the content of fat is 50 per cent.
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Vignotte
Vignotte is a French cheese made from cow's milk. It
has a fresh, creamy, slightly lemony and salty flavour.
According to its texture, it ranks among soft cheeses.
It is a table cheese and is suitable for grilling too.
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