Goat Cheeses
Soft Cheeses with washed and downed rinds
Blue Cheeses
General information:
Origin: Provence Alps Côte d'Azur - France
Cheese group: Goat cheeses
Milk type: Goat's milk
Strength: Medium
Taste: Banon is a mild soft cheese with a nutty flavour and a firm supple texture. As it ripens, the surface of the cheese takes on the colour and the aroma of the leaf, and the odour of wet earth.
Fat content: 45%
Season: Spring to autumn for goat's milk cheese; all year for cow's milk cheese
Description:
There are several kind of Banon: Banon Herbes de Provence (Provence herbs), Banon poivre (black pepper), Banon sariette (savory).
But the most well known is Banon à la feuille (wrapped in a chestnut leaves).The origin of Banon à feuille comes from the need to preserve the cheese which was an essential foodstuff at this time, during the winter period when goats did not produce milk.
Banon is a small round cheese with a rind of natural mould.The cheese is very-well presented as it is wrapped in chestnut leaves and raffia after having been dipped in “eau-de-vie” (alcohol) to avoid bad mould. The cheese is made from goat’s milk. It is first ripened for 4 to 6 days before being wrapped in the chestnut leaves. It is then let to ripen again for 5 to 15 days.
General information:
Origin: Middle-Pyrénées - France
Cheese group: Goat cheeses
Milk type: Goat's milk
Strength: Medium
Taste: Goaty and soft on the palate
Fat content: 45%
Season: Year-round
Description:
Cabécou is a raw goat?s milk cheese, which comes from Plateaux of Quercy (Lot). In Langue d?Oc, Cabécou means ?kid?. It was created in the 15th century and was at that time considered as a way to pay taxes and rents.
Cabécou is very soft. Depending on its degree of ripeness, it can be soft as well as creamy.
General information:
Origin: Poitou-Charentes - France
Cheese group: Goat cheeses
Milk type: Goat's milk
Strength: Medium
Taste: Typical goat's milk taste, light sour milk
Fat content: 45%
Season: End of spring, summer, autumn are its best seasons
Description:
According to legend, Chabichou du Poitou is from the 8th century and was imported by the Sarazenen. "Chabi", the short form of Chabichou, is an interpretation of the Arabian word for goat - "chebli".
Today, the Poitou-Charentes is the most important goat cheese region of France, and is where the biggest quantity of the goat cheese is produced. They have also had very good results with Chabichou.
Chabichou is a whole-milk cheese and one of the best French. It has a light and goaty aroma. It is really creamy and soft.
General information:
Origin: Centre France
Cheese group: Goat cheeses
Milk type: Goat's milk
Strength: Medium
Taste: Typical goat's milk flavour, nutty, lightly acidic
Fat content: 45%
Season: March to November
Description:
The little village of Chavignol (Centre region) with only two hundred inhabitants came to fame, thanks to this whole goat's cheese
The small cylindrical cheese has been produced since the 16th century, but it wasn't until the year 1829 that it was first written about. Protected by the AOC seal, Crottin de Chavignol is produced today with traditional methods. To be labelled, the cheese has to be from the area around Chavignol, and it has to meet the stringent AOC production criteria.
The flavour of Crottin de Chavignol is subtle and slightly nutty. In its youth, its dough is solid and compact, and its rind is white. It can be quite fresh or very dry, depending on the number of days it ripens. If it ripens a lot, the dough becomes crumbly and the mould on the rind matures into a bluish colour. The bluish colour doesn't mean that the cheese is no longer edible - quite the opposite.
Suggestions:
A classic dish is baked Crottin de Chavignol on a green salad
General information:
Origin: Centre France
Cheese group: Goat cheeses
Milk type: Goat's milk
Strength: Medium
Taste: Fine goat's milk flavour, lightly acidic, nutty
Fat content: minimum 45%
Season: April to October
Description:
With a characteristic cone shape, this goat cheese has the nickname, pyramid or Eiffel tower. The home of Pouligny Saint-Pierre is the Vallée de la Brenne in the county Centre. This area has the advantage of a good micro climate, providing mild winters, with influence from the ocean. The special flora of this area, with its cherry trees and heather, provide rich food for the local goats to graze on. This richness is evident in the cheese. It has a smooth goat's milk taste, a bit sour, and a nutty aroma.
Suggestions:
It is to be enjoyed fresh in a salad or warm on toast with pear and fresh walnuts.
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General information:
Origin: Centre France
Cheese group: Goat cheeses
Milk type: Goat's milk
Strength: Mild
Taste: Goat's milk flavour, mild, nutty
Fat content: 45%
Season: Spring's end, summer, autumn
Description:
Can I also eat the rind? This is the question many people ask about French cheese. The answer is both yes and no, as it depends on the cheese variety and personal preferences. Goat cheeses such as the Selles-sur-Cher can be enjoyed either way, depending on taste preference. However, people from the Loire eat the rind as it gives the cheese a special touch.
The grayish colour of the rind is from plant coal. It controls the humidity on the surface of the cheese and protects the cheese from drying out. Furthermore the plant coal provides a good base for the growth of mould
Suggestions:
In slices as apéritif.
General information:
Origin: Centre - France
Cheese group: Goat cheeses
Milk type: Goat's milk
Strength: Medium
Taste: Its flavour is a subtle goats milk flavour with a slight hint of mushroom.
Fat content: 45%
Season: March to November
Description:
The most obvious way to identify Saint-Maure de Touraine is by the straw through its centre. The straw is there to keep the roll formed cheese together and to allow air through to the core. It is also marked with the number of the production company and the AOC seal.
Only a Sainte-Maure with the additional name "de Touraine" on the label guarantees that it is an AOC cheese. If the cheese is not from the geographicaly fixed area of the Loire or if it doesn't meet all the requirements of the strict Appellation d'Origine, it will only be labelled Sainte Maure.
Suggestions:
Enjoy it fresh with nuts and grapes, toasted or fully ripened.
General information:
Origin: France
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General information:
Origin: Centre - France
Cheese group: Goat cheeses
Milk type: Goat's milk
Strength: Mild
Taste: Mild, lightly nutty
Fat content: 45%
Season: May to November
Description:
It is said that Valençay was once the shape of a complete pyramid. When Napoleon stopped at the castle Valençay after his defeat in Egypt and saw the cheese, which reminded him of the Egyptian pyramids, he took his sword and chopped off the point.
It is not known if this legend is true, but it is true that the AOC cheese of the Loire is pollinated with plant coal during the production and therefore retains its soft and nutty flavour for a long time.
Suggestions:
Cheeseboard
General information:
Origin: Ile-de-France
Cheese group: Soft, bloomy-rind cheeses
Milk type: Cow's milk
Strength: Medium
Taste: Hazelnut, herb, lightly acidic and fruity
Fat content: 45%
Season: Summer, autumn and winter
Description:
Brie de Meaux is known as the cheese of Kings as it was loved by Charlemagne, Charles of Orléans and even Henry IV. But it is also the "king of cheeses". It received this title on the occasion of the Viennese congress in 1814. Gourmets in France and the rest of the world agreed that this distinction be given to the Brie de Meaux, making it one of the most famous cheeses.
In contrast to "normal" brie, whose origin is not protected, the AOC cheese Brie de Meaux, can only come from a certain area in the Ile-de-France near Paris. Here it has kept its rural tradition and its hand-crafted production.
The big, round, soft cheese has a velvet white mould rind, which changes to a reddish hue during the ripening process. Brie de Meaux has a slight bitter taste that if left to unfold, develops into a completely soft, and very aromatic flavour
Suggestions:
It is appropriate in a sandwich, on a cheeseboard or on a canapé with dry fruits.
General information:
Origin: Normandy - France
Cheese group: Soft, bloomy-rind cheeses
Milk type: Cow's milk
Strength: Mild
Taste: Finely acidic with tender or creamy consistency
Fat content: 75%
Season: Year-round
Description:
"A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman that is missing an eye" wrote the famous French writer and gourmet Brillat Savarin in his "Physiology of Taste". Another cheese expert, Henri Androueet created a cheese and dedicated his invention in the 1930's to Brillat Savarin.
The result is a very mild, creamy and slightly sour, soft cheese with a white mould. It has plenty of flavour when it is well ripened.
General information:
Origin: Normandy - France
Cheese group: Soft, bloomy-rind cheeses
Milk type: Cow's milk
Strength: Medium
Taste: Fresh, lightly acidic, ripe, fruity, mushroom flavoured
Fat content: 45%
Season: Summer, autumn and winter
Description:
For many, Camembert de
Normandie is the perfect example of a French cheese. Even before it
received the AOC seal in 1983, it was the most copied cheese in the
world. As an AOC cheese, it can only be produced in Normandy according
to defined, traditional methods. This cheese is made from raw cow's
milk. It has a white striated rind and a light yellow interior. His
flavour is really fruity.
According to legend, this famous cheese was invented during the French
Revolution by a farmer, Marie Harel. It is said that she developed
Camembert in 1791 together with a priest, whom she hid on her farm.
Napoleon III was an admirer of Camembert and served it at his court. In
1880 the engineer Ridel had the idea to wrap Camembert in a box of thin
wood, allowing it to be sent on journeys and even exported.
Suggestions:
You can eat it in croquette or fried.
General information:
Origin: France
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General information:
Origin: Champagne Ardenne - France
Cheese group: Soft, bloomy-rind cheeses
Milk type: Cow's milk
Strength: Mild
Taste: Mushroom aroma, creamy
Fat content: 45%
Season: Summer and autumn
Description:
The Champagne region is in the north east of France. A wide, flat country, which leads from the Belgian border further south to Chablis - a region which came to world fame as the origin the bubbly Champagne.
A famous cheese of this region is the Chaource, named after the village. The small, round soft cheese made from cow's milk has the AOC seal, maintaining its traditional production according to strict quality criteria.
If it is young, the Chaource tastes slight sour (a fruity savour with a touch of acidity). However it is creamy and smooth and has a mushroom aroma.
Suggestions:
Enjoy it during apéritif (a very ripe Chaource served with a spoon) or on a cheeseboard.
General information:
Origin: Burgundy - France
Cheese group: Soft, washed-rind cheeses
Milk type: Cow's milk
Taste: Lightly alcoholic, delicate yet strong
Fat content: 50%
Season: Most creamy from July to February
Description:
According to legend, Epoisses was invented at the beginning of the 16th century by Cistercian monks. It was probably farmer's wives who improved the production methods which have been passed down through the generations. Dry rooms oriented to the north-east, and ripening cellars found all over the Bourgogne (which could be found in the farmers' houses all around Epoisses before the 19th century) verify this theory.
It is said that Napoleon enjoyed this cheese with a glass of Chambertin. Although Epoisses was quite popular in the beginning of the 20th century, its production petered out during the Second World War. In 1956 however, a gentleman called Berthaut from the village Epoisses, started production again.
Today, gourmets all over the world love this cheese with red culture. They especially like its intense, slightly alcoholic taste that results from the cheese being regularly washed during the ripening process with a mixture of salt water and a gradually increasing proportion of the high-proof "Marc de Bourgogne" alcohol. It is very agreeably on the palate
Suggestions:
Cheeseboard
General information:
Origin: Champagne Ardenne - France
Cheese group: Soft, washed-rind cheeses
Milk type: Cow's milk
Strength: Strong
Taste: fine sheep's milk flavour
Fat content: 50%
Season: Year-round
Description:
The origin of this soft cheese (with red culture) is the Langres Plateau in the Champagne region. One can immediately recognize it from its slight indent on the surface. In its homeland, it is often enjoyed by first putting pouring some Champagne or Marc de Bourgogne in the "well" before consuming.
The rind, which has an intense smell is always damp, sticky and shiny. The solid, but supple dough melts in the mouth and unfolds its full flavour. Although it is quite salty, Langres is much more mild than the similar Epoisses de Bourgogne.
Suggestions:
Cheeseboard.
General information:
Origin: Normandy - France
Cheese group: Soft, washed-rind cheeses
Milk type: Cow's milk
Strength: Medium
Taste: Lightly herb flavoured
Fat content: 45%
Season: Summer, autumn and winter
Description:
Pont-L'Evêque with its washed rind may be the oldest cheese variety from Normandy that is still produced today. Before adopting the name used today, generations knew it by a different name. In the middle ages it was first called Angelon; in the 13th century it was called Angelot; in the 16th century Augelot, before it finally got the name Pont-L'Evêque in the 17th century. It is a very flavourful cheese.
Suggestions:
Cheeseboard.
General information:
Origin: Savoie - France
Cheese group: Pressed, uncooked cheeses
Milk type: Cow's milk
Strength: Medium
Taste: Nutty, full-flavoured, buttery, creamy
Fat content: minimum 45%
Season: Year-round, but best in summer and autumn
Description:
It is the farmers of the 14th century we have to thank for this creamy half solid sliced cheese from the Haute Savoie region. At that time they paid their lease with a part of their milk production. The land owners came to measure the milk, but to keep the rent low, the farmer would only partially milk the cows. As soon as the land owner left, the farmer would milk the rest. That second batch of milk which had a high fat content, the result of the milk fraud, helped in the production of Reblochon.
Today this mild raw milk cheese with a saffron yellow rind is produced in an official and legal manner, but the methods are still the same. The milk is only from three local breeds, Abondance, Montbéliard and Tarine, and the production is in a precise location. These methods are guaranteed as Reblochon received the AOC seal in 1976.
Suggestions:
With its mild creaminess, Reblochon matches perfectly to crispy breakfast rolls. It is also good combined with baked pudding or other warm meals. You can also make a tartiflette with it (potatoes, bacon and cheese gratin).
General information:
Origin: France
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Milk type: Cow cheese
Strength: soft
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Description: This is a raw milk
cheeses that comes from the farms in the Rhone-Alpes area of France.
The French call this caille doux. Affinage (maturing) is a least two
weeks.
The taste is creamy and soft and will delight amateurs of soft cow’s
cheeses.
The rind, pate and flavour of this little cheese are soft, as in the
production method a soft curd is used. The pate is uncooked and
unpressed, the rind has a natural yellow mould.
Suggestions:
General information:
Origin: Rhône-Alps - France
Cheese group: Soft, bloomy-rind cheeses
Milk type: Cow or goat's milk
Strength: Mild
Taste: Fresh and aromatic
Fat content: Minimum 45%
Season: Year-round
Description:
Saint-Marcellin is made with both goat's and cow's milk. It has been made in the Dauphiné since the 15th century. It is said that Louis XI even introduced it to the royal table once he became king.
Suggestions:
It can be eaten either with a green salad or with bread.
General information:
Origin: Switzerland
Cheese group: Soft cheese
Milk type: Cow
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Description:A traditional cheese of France and Switzerland made from cow's milk that typically will contain almost 50 percent milk fat. When produced in Switzerland, the cheese is referred to as Vacherin Mont d'Or and is made with pasteurized milk. The French version is known simply as Mon d'Or and is produced with raw milk. After aging for two to three months, the cheese forms a crust that encases a soft, creamy texture with small holes throughout the cheese. This cheese provides a mild, rich nutty flavor with a distinctive aroma. Because this cheese is so soft, it is very spreadable and may be eaten with a spoon.
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General information:
Origin: Franche-Comté - France
Cheese group: Blue cheeses
Milk type: Cow's milk
Strength: Medium
Taste: It is a soft and creamy cheese, sometimes a bit crumbly and it is mild with a hint of hazelnut.
Fat content: 50%
Season: Summer, autumn and winter
Description:
These two names are valid for only one AOC cheese with blue mould. It is said that this cheese dates back to the 16th century.
Bleu de Gex / Bleu du Haut-Jura is produced exclusively with milk from Montbéliard cows that graze on the meadows of the Jura. This milk provides the special taste typical to the cheese, and is what makes it different from all the other
Suggestions:
You should enjoy it either as an appetizer, with boiled potatoes or at the end of a meal.
General information:
Origin: Auvergne - France
Cheese group: Blue cheeses
Milk type: Cow's milk
Strength: Mild
Taste: Mushroom and nutty overtones
Fat content: 50%
Season: Summer, autumn, winter
Description:
Fourme d'Ambert is a most tangy representative of the French variety of blue mould cheeses. This cheese name is derived from the Latin "forma" - form.
For a long time this mould cheese shared the protected origin name AOC with its brother -Fourme de Montbrison. As there are small differences between them, they separated in 2002, each now with its own AOC seal.
Fourme d'Ambert has quite strong mould veins and a yellowish-gray rind. Its flavour is mild, with light nut and mushroom overtones
Suggestions:
Salads, soufflés or filled crêpes
General information:
Origin: Middle-Pyrénées - France
Cheese group: Blue cheeses
Milk type: Ewe's milk
Strength: Strong
Taste: ewe's milk flavour, tangy, salty, strong
Fat content: 52%
Season: Year-round
Description:
Roquefort, from the
south of France, with its characteristic blue mould veins, is called
"king of the cheeses" by the French. A similar cheese to Roquefort
existed in Roman times, and was mentioned by Plinius in the year 79 in
one of his books. In 1411, Karl VI allowed the inhabitants of Roquefort
to have the monopoly for ripening this cheese in their caves. Even
today, this cheese can only be ripened in the natural stone cellars of
the Mont Combalou in the community Roquefort-sur-Sulzon.
In 1925 the ewe's milk cheese with the blue mould was one of the first
French cheeses to receive the AOC seal.
Suggestions:
It is very good and quite original in lamb's lettuce salad dressing.