Photo du Jour - Winter Cheese

a>

 Vacherin du Haut Doubs, a.k.a. le Mont d'Or. A winter delight!

Just a reminder - its season is agonizingly short, so enjoy every bite of this beautiful, rich fromage while you can.


Pin It

La Fête du Fromage - Coeur de Joux

Anyone who loves cheese has to appreciate the array of luscious cow's milk cheeses produced in the Franche-Comté.  The farms and fromagères of this region have given us Vacherin du Haut Doubs (often called Mont d'Or), Bleu de Gex, Morbier, Emmental Français and one of the most perfect cheeses ever, Comté.

My newest discovery from this area is Coeur de Joux.

Its two dominant flavors are grass and walnuts, with sweet hints of fruit thrown in to balance everything out.  Coeur de Joux is soft and mild, with a dense, chewy texture that is very similar to its famous cousin, Comté.
This is a truly amiable cheese; there's nothing harsh or smelly or aggressive about it.  If I had to describe Coeur de Joux in one word, it would have to be uncomplicated. 

A good wine match would be Riesling or a soft red from Bordeaux.

Pin It

La Fête du Fromage - December Round Up

Some of my favorite French cheeses were submitted for this month's Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event.
I appreciate everyone taking time out from their holiday preparations to submit an entry.


Tammy, who also lives in the Languedoc and writes La Vie Cevenole, tasted the ultimate winter cheese: Vacherin Mont d'Or. She describes this special, spruce wood infused cheese as having "long-lasting aromas of mushroom, balsam and sometimes potatoes."
Thanks for reminding me to pick up a wheel while it's in season! And thank you also for that fantastic vin chaud recipe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soft little rounds of Rocamadour are Camille of Croque-Camille's entry to December's Fête. She's celebrating foods from le Périgord this month, so what better cheese than the region's most famous?
Camille describes Rocamadour as "ultra smooth, with a rich, creamy flavor, mild goaty tang, and a hint of pepper on the finish." Yum! I have fond memories of this one too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To wind up 2009 I thought I would submit the smelliest cheese I've ever tasted: Vieux-Boulogne. It is a wonderful, rich cheese with an aroma that will knock you on your derrière. I highly recommend it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks again you two. Bonnes Fêtes!


A new year brings us to the 13th Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event.
Why not make trying new cheeses one of your New Year's resolutions for 2010?
If you would like to join in, please have your entries to me by January 13. The entire round-up will be posted on January 15.

Tell us why you chose this particular cheese. Tell us how it tasted. Tell us about its texture and aroma. Did you eat it on its own? Or with something? Did you drink anything special with your cheese? Would you recommend it or not? Is there something unusual or interesting about it?

• Photos are wonderful, but not necessary
• Entries must contain the words La Fête du Fromage and contain a link to Chez Loulou
• Posts should be written specifically for La Fête du Fromage and not entered in any other food blog event
• Please send the link to your post to louloufrance (at) gmail (dot) com with the words Fête du Fromage in the subject line

Pin It

La Fête du Fromage - Round Up # 3

Voilà! - the November round up of La Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event.
Thank you to everyone who joined in and I hope to see you again in December!


Nathalie of Spaced Out Ramblings offers us an enticing chunk of Italian cheese from the Piemonte region of Italy called Castelmango. She describes it as round and sharp, with flavors of ripe fruits and dried grass. It looks sublime! Thanks for the introduction, Nathalie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My sincere apologies to Mariana at History of Greek Food, as I accidentally left her entry out of the original round-up. The recipe she shares for Cheese and Sesame Balls using Manouri, a fresh, delicate goat or sheep's milk cheese, was inspired by a poem that is over 2000 years old. Truly inspiring and a great idea for us "cheese junkies."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chelly at Rolling in Dough, wrote an engaging love letter to Comté, a cheese that conjures up fond memories of France in every delicious bite.
"When I have thin slices of Comte' on Baguette for lunch, I'm in France. But Comte' really shines when enjoyed with some crusty bread and a glass of red wine. Simplicity defined - to me there isn't a better combination."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Camille, who lives in Paris and writes the inspiring blog Croque Camille, spiced up a humble tuna melt with some crumbly, tangy Tillamook Cheddar cheese (and this fellow expat living in France wants to know where she found it exactly?!?). This sandwich looks like some serious comfort food.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Chutney Cheese Ball made with tangy and creamy artisan chèvre is the Fête du Fromage entry from Rachel at The Crispy Cook. The cheese is produced by Elizabeth Porter of Argyle, New York and the Chutney Cheese Ball is Rachel's brilliant creation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First a taste, then a tart.
Judith at A Shortcut to Mushrooms, a blog that is full of fabulous vegetarian recipes, really enjoyed the the soft, mild Port Salut that she tasted for La Fête. After sampling it on its own, she whipped up a Pepper, Port Salut and Onion Tart and loved how the cheese paired with the red pepper and sweet onions. This looks wonderful!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A beautiful trio of mezes, (mezes is an appetizer served with wine, ouzo or tsikoudia) called Cheese Sagnaki, is Ivy's of Kopiaste's entry to la Fête. "Saganaki is very easy to make but you will need a very good Greek hard cheese. Saganaki can be made with Graviera, Kefalotyri, Kefalograviera, Formaella, Halloumi, Kaskavalli..."
Ivy shares three recipes for Sagnaki and they all look fantastic!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We're in the height of the Vacherin du Haut Doubs season, my cheese entry for La Fête. This is a soft and yeasty flavored cheese that is infused with mild pine flavors by the spruce wood box that the cheese sits in while it matures. It is only available from August 15 and March 31, so get some while you can!

Thanks again everyone!


Come and celebrate cheese with us again in December.
Tell us why you chose this particular cheese. Tell us how it tasted. Tell us about its texture and aroma. Did you eat it on its own? Or with something? Did you drink anything special with your cheese? Would you recommend it or not? Is there something unusual or interesting about it?

The 15th of every month will be the official day for La Fête du Fromage. Please have your entries to me by the end of the 13th.

• Photos are wonderful, but not necessary
• Entries must contain the words La Fête du Fromage and contain a link to Chez Loulou
• Posts should be written specifically for La Fête du Fromage and not entered in any other food blog event
• Please send the link to your post to louloufrance (at) gmail (dot) com with the words Fête du Fromage in the subject line

Pin It

La Fête du Fromage - Vacherin du Haut Doubs (a.k.a. Mont D'Or)

This cheese is one of France's most succulent wintertime treats.

Vacherin du Haut Doubs has been produced for over 200 years high in the Alps, in the Franche-Comté. It was previously called Vacherin du Mont d'Or by both the French and the Swiss, who each claimed that they were the first to produce it. In 1973 Switzerland quietly laid legal claim to it. Then, to add insult to injury, in 1983 they began producing the cheese from pasteurized cow's milk!
Sacré bleu! The French were forced to call the cheese from their side of the border either Mont d'Or or Vacherin du Haut Doubs.

Most French cheese is produced during the summer months, when the animals feed on sweet, summer grasses, so this cheese is unique in that it is produced from the unpasteurized milk of the Montbéliard and Simmentaler cows during the winter months, when they graze on cold weather vegetation and grain. AOC guidelines state that the cheese may be produced only between August 15 and March 31.



Breaking through the moist, thick, wavy rind with your spoon reveals a creamy, beige interior. The flavor is mild, yeasty and subtly infused by the spruce wood box in which the cheese ripens. Warming Vacherin in the oven only improves its flavor, bringing out the richness of this cheese.

So get your spoons ready to scoop up some of its runny deliciousness, and pour yourself a glass of Côtes du Jura, Beaujolais or Chardonnay to enjoy alongside.

This is truly a fabulous seasonal cheese, so get some while you can.



Pin It