French Cheese

For the French, cheese is a way of life, a daily indulgence to share with family and friends and a product of real national pride. One of the best times of day is after the dinner plates are cleared away, and cheese, accompanied by fresh, chewy baguette is ushered onto the table. Every night often brings something different. Sometimes a rich blue that’s swirled together with crème fraiche. Other times a pungent, oozing, soft cheese like Camembert. There are 400 officially recognised cheeses, and each has its own history to tell, specific origin location and very own production process. Each cheese is an adventure, and bloody delicious we might add. Plus, pairing some of this creamy goodness with beer will bring a new cheese experience to your palate. Here we take you through ten of the tastiest fromage coming out of France.

A BITE-SIZED HISTORY OF FRENCH CHEESE

Cheese has been produced in France for well over a thousand years. For a while, it was even considered less of a luxury product, and more of a protein source that kept the masses alive when meat was too expensive.

As a nation with strong regional diversity, France is unsurprisingly and fiercely protective of its local cheeses. Citizens can get downright competitive when it comes to discussing the ‘best’ varieties. From northern soft white mould Camembert de Normandie to nutty, sweet Comté in the east, each region has been producing and perfecting their cheeses for centuries. And just how people talk about the intricate details of grapes, soil and weather when discussing wine, cheese comes with its own discussion of terroir — literally translating to ‘land’, but referring to much more including pasture, climate, water and breed of the animals producing the milk.

EATING ETIQUETTE

Sadly the French don’t really follow our philosophy when it comes to eating cheese, which is ‘all of it, all the time.’ Restraint is the name of the game, so we guess you could say you need to be on your best brie-haviour. The basics here are: use a separate knife for each cheese (or at the very least wipe off your knife in between bites), maintain the shape of the wedge (don’t slice off the ‘nose’) and eat from the mildest cheese through to the most pungent — this is less for etiquette and more for the sake of your tastebuds.

If you’re preparing a cheeseboard, select a mix of hard, soft and blue varieties, and maybe include something a little acidic and sweet on the board like grapes or quince paste for contrast. Make sure you allow all the cheeses to come to room temperature before you serve,  and if there are any leftovers, store them in a cloth cheesebag (if you have one) or very loosely wrapped in clingwrap. Never freeze cheese — it doesn’t end well.