La Fête du Fromage - Fantine

Another week, another fabulous French cheese.

My addiction to fromage has hit epic proportions since being on my own for the last few weeks. 
A hunk of baguette, a sliced tomato and a bit of cheese has become my perfect meal.  Even for breakfast.  And if I'm feeling really adventurous I'll add a handful of arugula or a portion of carottes râpées to my plate.
I've reacquainted myself with some old friends such as Rocamadour and Ossau-Iraty, and brought home a mouthwatering, nutty wedge of 18 month old Comté one day.  (I must confess that I cheated on French fromage a couple of times with Italian formaggio, but my dear French fromage knows it will always be my true love)

My newest acquaintance is Fantine, a fromage férmier from the Cantal region in south-central France.

Fantine's aroma is full of rich, earthy mushrooms and its medium-strong flavor is bursting with flowers, butter and yeast.  The creamy, pressed pâte is silky smooth giving this unpasteurized cow's milk cheese a very luxurious mouth feel.
If you're a fan of cheeses like Laguiole or Salers, then you will love Fantine.  Enjoy with a glass of Touraine.

When I bought it at the market, I worried a bit about the cracks and holes along the rind.  But the flavor was wonderful, so possibly it was just poor handling by the seller?

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La Fête du Fromage - Tomme de Chèvre

Every so often I come across a cheese that I think I've already tasted, when actually it is a completely different cheese, from a completely different region, but with the same name.  It can get confusing, I tell you!  I've learned to keep a little notebook of the cheeses I've tasted, so I can keep from getting them mixed up.

Since I'm on a mission to taste every cheese produced in France, if there are two or even three that share a name yet come from different areas, then they must be different cheeses.  It all goes back to that term terroir, which I believe applies to cheese as well as wine. 
A tomme style goat cheese produced in the Alps or in the Pyrénées, like the Tomme de Chèvre I tasted three years ago, cannot be the same as a Tomme de Chèvre from the Corrèze, like this one.
The goats graze on different grasses and flowers, the climate is different, the water is different, thus each cheese will have unique characteristics.

This Tomme de Chèvre is one of those perfect, luscious cheeses that I could happily nibble on day after day.
It has a well balanced flavor that is rich, slightly sweet, grassy and nutty and a bit tangy.  Its texture is silky smooth, creamy and very dense, and there is no evidence of goatiness, so no need to be wary if you're not a fan of goat cheese.

Chardonnay or a red such as Touraine would pair well with this chèvre.

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La Fête du Fromage - Salers Tradition and Langres

I finally came across some Langres, a cheese I've been trying to find for ages! We tasted it with a nice hunk of Salers Tradition for this week's Fête du Fromage.


The mountains of the Auvergne region of central France is home to a chestnut colored breed of cattle called Salers. After a summer of grazing on sweet mountain pastures, the raw milk from this special breed is used to make Salers Tradition cheese, an entirely fermier AOC cheese. It is similar to Cantal, the main difference is that Cantal can be made from milk produced all year long and Salers only from the summer milk. The cheese is made and aged in mountain burons (stone huts) just as it has been for the last two thousand years.
The piece I bought was aged for 18 months and was salty, tangy and strong tasting with hints of grass and flowers. I loved it's flavor, but my husband wasn't very excited about this one. (more for me!) It's aroma was meaty and heady and the texture was soft and crumbly.

Salers Tradition would be delicious served with fruit such as pears or grapes and fantastic with walnuts. Pour a glass of Touraine or a fruity Beaujolais to drink with this cheese.



Gooey, runny and utterly delectable, Langres (LAHNG-gruh) was truly worth it's hefty little price tag. (5 € for this 150 gram cheese in a basket)
The high plains of Langres in the Champagne-Ardenne region is home to the artisans who make this superb AOC awarded cheese. Difficult to see in this picture, but the there is a little well or fontaine on top into which you can pour Champagne, Chablis or marc de Champagne*. Then, when you cut into the cheese, it is bathed in spirits. But the flavor is so incredible it doesn't need to be bathed in anything! Just have a glass of Chablis or Champagne or marc with the Langres while you're eating it.
It has a smelly, barnyard aroma (for lack of a better description) and a wet, shiny looking crust. The cheese melts in your mouth as spicy, creamy and mildly salty flavors blend together and send waves of pleasure throughout your entire body. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a tiny bit, but this cheese is very special!



*marc de Champagne is a clear, colorless brandy made by distilling the residue of skins, seeds and stalks left after pressing the grapes in the first stage of making Champagne Pin It