A Beginner's Guide to French Cheese: Savoring the Cheese Lover’s Paradise
Few countries rival France when it comes to cheese. For the French, cheese is not just a food, but a way of life, an integral part of their gastronomic tradition. Charles de Gaulle, a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II, and later became the President of France, once said: "How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?" It is worth noting that he slightly underestimated the figure. With an astounding variety of between 1200 and 1500 types of cheese, France is truly a cheese lover's paradise.
General Charles de Gaulle during review of young women of Free French Forces at Wellington barracks in London on july 14, 1942.
Stepping into a French fromagerie (cheese shop) can be both an exhilarating and daunting experience. The seemingly endless assortment of cheeses, each with its unique taste, texture, and aroma, can be overwhelming for the uninitiated. But fret not! Our aim here is to equip you with basic knowledge about French cheeses, so you can navigate the cheese aisles like a local during your next visit. If you want an immersive gastronomic experience, we invite you to join us on our Toulouse Traditional Food Tour, where you'll not only learn more about cheese shopping but also sample some of the finest cheeses France has to offer.
1. Basic Concepts You Need to Understand
Before delving into the wide world of French cheeses, it's essential to understand a few key concepts:
Terroir: This French term refers to the combination of natural factors (like climate, soil, and topography) and human factors (like farming practices, cultivar selection, and harvesting techniques) that give a product its unique characteristics. In cheese, terroir impacts everything from the flavor to the texture.
AOP/AOC: These acronyms stand for Appellation d'Origine Protégée and Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée respectively. They are certifications that guarantee a product is made in a specific region using traditional methods and are of a certain quality.
Raw Milk Cheeses in France: Unlike many countries where cheeses are often made from pasteurized milk, France is famous for its raw (unpasteurized) milk cheeses, which are praised for their rich, complex flavors. It is estimated that 95% of the cheeses at a regular cheese store in Toulouse would be illegal in the US, that’s how good they are. Many cheese connoisseurs and producers believe that using raw milk produces cheese with more complex, intense, and unique flavors. The flavors can be so specific that they can reflect the nuances of the local terroir, which encompasses factors such as the regional grasses and herbs the milk-producing animals grazed on.
Seasonality of Cheeses: French cheeses also follow the seasons. For instance, 'fromage d'estive' is produced in the summer when cows graze on mountain pastures, while 'fromage d'alpage' refers to cheeses made in the Alpine meadows. The rich, diverse diet of high-altitude summer grasses, flowers, and herbs can greatly influence the flavor of the milk, and therefore the cheese made from it. As a result, these cheeses are considered to have a unique and often superior flavor profile.
2. The 7 Families of French Cheeses
French cheeses are categorized into seven families, each with its own unique characteristics and methods of production:
1. Les Fromages à Pâte Fraîche (Fresh Cheeses): These are unripened very young cheeses with a mild, tangy flavor and a soft, creamy texture. Examples include fromage blanc and faisselle.
The Brocciu Corse, an example of cow-milk fresh cheese.
2. Les Fromages à Pâte Molle et Croûte Fleurie (Bloomed Rind Soft Paste Cheeses): These cheeses, like Camembert and Brie, have a soft, creamy interior and a bloomy, edible rind, formed by the application of specific strains of mold, primarily Penicillium candidum or Penicillium camemberti (intentionally introduced and are safe to eat).
During the aging process, the molds grow on the surface of the cheese, forming a thin, soft, and often slightly fuzzy white rind. These molds not only contribute to the development of the rind but also influence the texture and flavor of the cheese. They break down the proteins and fats in the cheese, creating a soft, creamy texture and contributing to the rich, buttery, and sometimes mushroom-like flavors characteristic of bloomy-rind cheeses.
Brillat Savarin Cheese is a soft-paste bloomed-rind triple cream cow's milk cheese with a 75% fat.
3. Les Fromages à Pâte Molle et Croûte Lavée (Washed Rind Soft Paste Cheese): The distinctive smooth and orange rind of these cheeses is the result of repeatedly washing them in a solution during the aging process, known as affinage. This washing solution typically includes saltwater (brine), and often contains other ingredients like beer, wine, spirits, or a mix of cultures such as Brevibacterium linens.
The washing process helps to develop a moist environment that encourages the growth of specific bacteria on the rind of the cheese. This bacterium is particularly known for imparting strong, pungent, and often "funky" aromas, which are characteristic of many washed-rind cheeses. The alcohol used in the wash, like beer or wine, can also add to the complexity of the cheese's flavor profile. For instance, Epoisses cheese is famously washed in Marc de Bourgogne, a local spirit.
Époisses cheese is a raw cow-milk soft-paste washed-rind cheese produced by Jacques Hennart in the village of Époisses in Burgundy France.
4. Les Fromages à Pâte Pressée Non-Cuite (Pressed-Uncooked Hard Paste Cheese): This family of cheeses gets its name from the process in which it's made. After the curds are separated from the whey, they're cut into small pieces, placed into a cheese mold, and then pressed to extract more whey. Unlike their "cooked" counterparts, the curds aren't heated before pressing. The pressing stage can last several hours, and it's important in shaping the cheese and determining its final texture.
Uncooked pressed cheeses tend to be aged less than their cooked counterparts. Depending on the specific cheese, this aging process could range from a few weeks to several months. Uncooked pressed cheeses generally have a semi-soft to hard texture, but are less firm than cooked pressed cheeses. The flavor of these cheeses can range from mild to pronounced, depending on the type of cheese and the length of maturation. Some examples would be Reblochon, Morbier, Saint-Nectaire, and Tomme de Savoie.
Tomme de Savoie is an upland variety of Tomme cheese from Savoy in the French Alps. It is a raw cow-milk pressed-uncooked semi-firm-paste cheese with a beige interior and a thick brownish-grey rind.
5. Les Fromages à Pâte Pressée Cuite (Pressed-Cooked Hard Paste Cheese): After the curd forms, it's cut into small pieces, then heated to a specific temperature, generally between 50-60°C (122-140°F), and stirred. This is the "cooking" process that gives this family of cheeses its name. After this, the curds are pressed to expel any remaining whey and to consolidate the curds into a solid mass.
Cooked pressed cheeses are typically aged for a long time - from several months to several years. This lengthy aging process helps develop their distinctive flavors and firm texture. In addition, these cheeses are usually firm and compact, often with small holes or "eyes" in the body of the cheese. They have a rich, robust, and complex flavor that develops and intensifies over time.
Notable examples of cooked pressed cheeses include Comté, Beaufort, and Emmental.
Beaufort is a raw cow-milk, pressed-cooked hard-paste cheese produced in Beaufortain, Tarentaise valley and Maurienne, which are located in the Savoie region of the French Alps.
6. Les Fromages à Pâte Persillée (Blue Cheeses): These are a unique category of cheeses characterized by their distinctive blue or green veins of mold. The mold used is usually of the Penicillium species, most commonly Penicillium roqueforti or Penicillium glaucum.
The moldy veins or spots in blue cheeses are not a natural occurrence but are introduced by the cheesemaker in the early stages of cheese production. The curds are mixed with the Penicillium spores, either mixed in with the milk or curds before pressing.
To achieve the blue veining in the cheese, oxygen must come into contact with the mold. That's where needles come in. During the aging process, the cheese wheels are pierced with thin, stainless steel needles. These create small channels, or airways, that allow oxygen to reach the mold, encouraging its growth and the development of the characteristic blue or green veining.
As the cheese matures, the mold metabolizes the cheese's proteins and fats, resulting in a distinctive pungent smell and strong, tangy flavor. Some examples of blue cheeses include Roquefort, Bleu d'Auvergne, and Fourme d'Ambert.
Bleu d'Auvergne is a French blue cheese, named for its place of origin in the Auvergne region of south-central France. In this case it’s fermier, which means that the farm milking the animal is also the cheesemaker.
7. Les Fromages au Lait de Chèvre ou Brebis (Goat or Sheep-Milk Cheeses): Soft cheeses made from goat or sheep's milk are a unique and cherished category in French cheese. The rind of these cheeses is often wrinkled and looks somewhat like a brain because of the specific mold, Geotrichum candidum, that's used in their production. This mold grows on the exterior of the cheese and gives it its characteristic wrinkly appearance. It also contributes to the cheese's flavor development.
Goat and sheep cheeses are usually smaller and sold individually due to the size and milk production of the animals. Goats and sheep produce less milk than cows, and their milk has a higher fat and protein content. This results in a rich, flavorful cheese that is often produced in smaller quantities.
The smaller size also affects the aging process - smaller cheeses will mature faster than larger ones because the ratio of rind to paste is higher, allowing for quicker flavor development. Therefore, these types of cheeses can be young, with a fresh, tangy flavor, but some are also aged to develop stronger, more complex flavors.
The names of these cheeses often reflect their distinctive shapes or the region where they are produced. For instance, "Crottin de Chavignol" translates as "little dung of Chavignol," referring to its small, cylindrical shape and the village of Chavignol where it's made. Another example is "Pélardon," a small, disc-shaped goat's cheese from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France.
Seasonal soft-paste goat cheeses at Xavier, Toulouse.
3. Useful Cheese-Tasting Vocabulary
When tasting French cheeses, these are some terms you'll need to know:
Aroma: The smell of the cheese.
Appearance: The color, size, and shape of the cheese.
Body: The texture and consistency of the cheese.
Flavor: The taste of the cheese.
Rind: The outer layer of the cheese.
Paste: The interior of the cheese.
Pasture: The grass and plants the animals eat, which affects the cheese's flavor.
Nutty: A flavor descriptor often used for hard, aged cheeses.
Creamy: A texture descriptor for soft, spreadable cheeses.
Pungent: A strong, intense flavor.
Pasty: A sticky, thick texture.
Acidic: A sharp, tangy flavor.
Salty: A flavor descriptor indicating a high salt content.
Bitter: A harsh, unpleasant flavor often found in overripe cheeses.
Sweet: A descriptor for cheeses with a sugary flavor.
Umami: A savory, brothy flavor found in some aged cheeses.
4. Famous French Cheeses to Begin With
If you're new to French cheeses, here are six iconic ones to start with:
Comté: A pressed-cooked hard cheese with a nutty, slightly sweet flavor.
Beaufort: Another pressed-cooked cheese, known for its firm texture and complex, fruity flavor.
Brie de Meaux: A bloomed rind cheese with a creamy, mild flavor.
Iraty: A firm, sheep's milk cheese with a nutty, caramel-like flavor.
Brillat Savarin: A triple cream cheese known for its rich, buttery flavor.
Roquefort: A tangy, creamy blue cheese made from sheep's milk.
Comté is a raw cow-milk pressed-cooked hard-paste cheese made in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France, bordering Switzerland.
6. Famous Cheese Stores and Affineurs in Toulouse
In Toulouse, two of the best places to find quality cheeses are the covered markets of Marché Victor Hugo and Marché des Carmes. Here, you'll find renowned fromageries and affineurs such as:
Deux Chavanne Fromager Affineur: Not just a cheese shop, but also a celebrated affineur, a specialist who ages cheeses to perfection.
Xavier Fromager Affineur: The only cheese shop and affineur in the region to hold the prestigious MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier in France) title.
Fromagerie Betty: Known for being the first cheese shop to send a cheese dinner to the International Space Station, thanks to a partnership with CNES.
In the wonderful world of French cheese, it is also crucial to appreciate the role of the fromagers, or cheesemongers. These professionals, working in fromageries such as the aforementioned Deux Chavanne, Xavier Fromager Affineur, and Betty, have undergone extensive training, often involving a university degree called a CAP (Certificat d'Aptitude Professionnelle). Their expertise goes beyond just selling cheese - they are passionate about their craft and possess an encyclopedic knowledge of cheese, from the intricacies of production methods to the influence of terroir. They are not only there to sell you cheese but to guide you in your cheese-buying journey, helping you select cheeses that will thrill your palate, suit your occasion, or match your personal preferences.
Moreover, they can provide invaluable advice on the perfect wine-cheese pairings, whether you've already picked your wine and need a cheese to match, or you've chosen your cheese and need the ideal wine to complement it. With their guidance, you'll truly be able to savor the delights of French cheese in its full depth and breadth. Remember, never hesitate to ask questions and seek their advice – that’s what they’re there for!"
Venturing into the world of French cheese is an exciting journey of flavors and traditions. Whether you're a novice or a seasoned cheese enthusiast, France's vast cheese landscape offers something for everyone. Bon appétit!
