For All You Cheese Lovers Out There

Paris By Mouth now has an informative Tour de Fromage that offers cheese tastings at several fromageries around town and will introduce you to a wide variety of the more than 500 cheeses produced in France.

Notes on Cheese, The Murray's Cheese Notebook is just the kind of thing I needed a few years ago when I started keeping tasting notebooks.

Did you know that French goat's cheese had it's own ambassador? 
 
Formaticum and the Brooklyn Slate Co. have created the Cheese Survival Kit.
The only thing missing from that bag is a nice, big wedge of cheese!



When I'm researching a new cheese, I turn to these three books;  Mastering Cheese: Lessons for Connoisseurship from a Maître Fromager by Max McCalman, The Cheese Primer by Steven Jenkins and French Cheese (Eyewitness Series).

I love these downloadable Cheese Tasting Note Cards from Culture magazine.
So practical!

Pike Place Market hosts the Seattle Cheese Festival the weekend of May 19-20, 2012. Or if you happen to be in Provence that weekend, check out the Fête du Fromage à Banon, celebrating the village's namesake fromage de chèvre.


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Saturday Links from France

France, cheese and life in the Languedoc in my Franco File Friday interview with Lindsey.

Sometimes you just have to stop and enjoy the view.

Hot where you are? Try some Sorbet au Citron and you'll instantly feel cooler.

For all that's going on in Provence, look no further...

While she ruminates about which job to take, Camille shares a fantastic pickle recipe with her readers.

A perfect seaside dream. 



One of my favorite cherry recipes.

Another delicious, quintessentially French one.

Et une autre recette. (en français) Pin It

La Fête du Fromage - Le Saint-Domnin de Provence

Why I love French cheese reason #191; le Saint-Domnin de Provence.
A cheese so divine that it deserves to be named after a saint.

Imagine a cheese that is lusciously creamy and meltingly soft on your tongue. It tastes slightly bitter and peppery with hints of tangy citrus and mild mushroom that linger on and on. All these flavors are then rounded out by the intriguing, almost imperceptible but not quite, essence of lavender.

I wish I could describe it more adequately.
Instead I'll just insist that you come to France and try it for yourself, because I don't think they export this heavenly little fromage.


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La Fête du Fromage - Tome de Provence

 

Tome de Provence, or Tome à l'ancienne as it is sometimes called, has a notable history.

For more than 7000 years, farmers in Provence have been making a simple fromage de chèvre like this one.   
7000 years.  Think about that.

7000 years ago the wheel had just been invented in Mesopotamia.
7000 years ago the Neolithic era was about to begin in western Europe.
7000 years ago two of the world's major religions hadn't even been invented yet.

Pretty amazing if you ask me.

And this cheese's history isn't its only notable characteristic. 

Tome de Provence has perfectly balanced flavors that are slightly salty, slightly tangy, and rich and mushroomy.  I also detected hints of rosemary and thyme. 
The rind is dry and nutty and the texture of the pâte is wonderfully soft, creamy and chewy.  It is produced from unpasteurized milk and affinage takes between 10 days and 3 weeks.

A truly memorable little fromage that goes on my list of favorites.  I recommend it highly!

Wine recommendations include Chablis, rosé from Provence or Châteauneuf du Pape.

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Sunday Reading

These are some adorable and very photogenic chicks!

Una ricetta buona et facile.

Some curiosities from Provence.

Gearing up for zucchini season. This is one of my favorite ways to use them up.

Beautiful inspiration.

The fortified medieval town of Sighişoara was one of the highlights of our trip to Transylvania.

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