La Fête du Fromage - Five Cheeses to Try in France

Last week I wrote about five fabulous French cheeses that can be found in cheese shops or online in the States. I hope it helped to inspire some of you to try something new!

Unfortunately, many French cheeses aren't available overseas as they are either unpasteurized (and that is viewed as dangerous for some reason) or simply aren't exported by their producers. So in honor of this week's La Fête du Fromage I have put together a short list of luscious French cheeses to taste the next time you come to France.

I just know that these will entice you to get those plane tickets purchased!

When you arrive in France and find yourself in front of a large display of all sorts of strange looking, wonderfully smelly cheese at the Fromagerie, you can be confident that you are familiar with at least a few of the names and impress the person behind the counter when you ask for these five.
Believe me, you won't be disappointed.

1) Brugère - pronounced brew-jhere
A wonderful silky, slightly chalky textured fromage de chèvre that is a delight!


2) Tome Basque
A refined, sophisticated cheese with buttery and hazelnut flavors. It is super smooth and melts in your mouth. I love this one!


3) Camembert Brebis Fermier
A very special ewe's milk cheese from the Languedoc-Roussillon, made in the style of Camembert.


4) Cendré de Champagne
A luscious, creamy cheese with a slight smoky flavor from its ash covered rind. Truly sublime!


5) Chèvre Frais
In four stages of affinage. If you have the chance, try them all to find your favorite. Be sure to have some honey or fig jam to serve alongside.

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La Fête du Fromage - Cendré de Champagne

Cendré de Champagne looks gritty. Which kind of turned me off at first.
Grittiness is not a characteristic that I look for when buying cheese.
But it does come from the Champagne-Ardenne region, home to Langres, a huge favorite of mine (and Champagne of course, another huge favorite of mine), so I figured that it would redeem itself.

It did.

Besides, cheese crusts can be cut away.


Cendré de Champagne is matured in damp caves for 6-8 weeks, covered in poplar and beech tree ash, hence the gritty texture of the crust. Traditionally the ash came from the fire in which pig's trotters had been cooked, adding a certain 'je ne sais quoi' to the flavor of the cheese.
These days the ash is pig trotter free and adds a nice, subtle smokiness to its rich, medium-strong, luscious flavor.
Although, the creamy richness is deceiving. The fat content in this unpasteurized cow's milk cheese is only 20-30%, as opposed to the more than 40% of most cheeses.

Just as the little bubbles of Champagne tickle your tongue when you drink it, Cendré de Champagne prickles and tickles your tongue when you eat it, taking its absolute deliciousness to a whole new level.

A glass of Côteau Champenois rouge is suggested with Cendré de Champagne.


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