La Fête du Fromage - Le Rogeret

It's funny, but I'm always a bit disappointed when I find out that a cheese is pasteurized. Raw cheese just appeals to me. It is more real, has more attitude.

On my last visit to the cheese counter in les Halles I picked up several delicious new cheeses, all of which were unpasteurized, with this one exception. Thankfully Monsieur le Fromager was so enthusiastic about Rogeret that I decided to trust him.

In the future I vow to be more open minded about pasteurized French cheese!


Le Rogeret is made from a blend of pasteurized* goat and cow's milk in the stunning Ardèche region of southeastern France. It is matured for about two weeks on straw mats, giving the exterior a striated texture, similar to Saint-Félicien.

It is a very agreeable, likable cheese that is deliciously soft and creamy. The flavor is rich with hazelnuts and earthy mushrooms, and there is a slight tangy bitterness on the finish. We both loved it!

A glass of Beaujolais would pair perfectly with le Rogeret.



*There is a fermier, unpasteurized version of le Rogeret called Rogeret de Lamastre that I am now eager to try. Pin It

Fromage...continued

I finally have the chance to add to the post I started the other day about last week's delectable cheese tasting with my sister.

For someone who finds Roquefort cheese a bit too...well...fort, the Bleu des Basques was a breath of fresh air. It had all the qualities I appreciate in a bleu cheese, without being too salty or overwhelming. It was sophisticated, smooth and very, very tasty.

The little Picodon had a dense, chalky interior with an earthy flavor and a blue-grey rind from aging. It is made from raw goat's milk in the mountains of the Rhone-Alps, specifically the Ardèche and the Drôme. It was granted AOC status in 1991 and has its own festival every summer.



A final taste of Brie de Meaux was supposedly the last wish of Louis XVI before he was sent to the guillotine and it was also declared the "King of Cheese" at the Congress in Vienna in 1814. Creamy and rich with hints of hazelnut and fruit, Brie de Meaux has been made for over 1000 years and was a favorite of Charlemagne's. It is made from unpasteurized cow's milk and was granted AOC status in 1980.

Beaufort, delicious Beaufort! Made in the French Alps and aged for four to twelve months, it has a lovely, buttery scent and is best when served with white wine. It's flavor is smooth and fruity. The best is Beaufort d'Alpage which is made exclusively from the milk of free roaming Tarentaise cows that graze on the alpine grasses and flowers. Pin It