TAIT, Karen, French Cheese, The Telegraph, October 7, 2011.
Abstract : This article presents a national symbol of France, Cheese. There are 246 varieties of cheese in this country, and they represent each region. A lot of people think that french cheese is the best.
Quotation :
“Brie, camembert, roquefort… just three fromages that are known and loved by cheese aficionados this side of the Channel too. But how many other French cheeses can you name? There are certainly plenty to choose from; it’s said that there’s a different variety for every day of the year — now that’s a challenge worth taking!
How can you govern a country that has 246 varieties of cheese?” asked General de Gaulle. Cheese as a metaphor for the French people? After all, how can you compare comté with St Nectaire?
While fromage is nothing less than a national symbol of France, the individual cheeses themselves have become regional symbols. Every area has its specialities, of which its is rightly proud, as well as dishes that have grown from them. The cheesiest of all has to be fondue savoyarde; melted comté, emmental and gruyère, into which chunks of bread or meat are dipped.
The huge choice of cheese on offer reflects the varied terrain – France has everything from rugged mountains to vast plateaux, vine-clad hillsides to patchwork pastures, and craggy cliffs to sandy beaches.
No wonder its cheeses are so varied. Like wine, they absorb the flavours of their terroir. They are often made by small independent producers and a single type of cheese can have hundreds of makers, each creating a slightly different product. How long the cheese is aged for also influences the taste and texture – affinage is the word used to refer to this maturating period.
Cheese is an essential part of most French meals, and unlike in the UK, it is served before dessert, not after. Generally speaking, you can split it into three camps: soft, hard/pressed and blue cheese, made from cow’s, ewe’s or goat’s milk. Many come under the appellation controllée (AOC) label, as used on wine, which strictly controls the origin and way it is made. Roquefort was the first cheese to receive AOC status in 1925.
Soft cheeses are what we tend to think of as typically French, such as brie, camembert, Epoisses, Munster, Pont l’Eveque and St Nectaire. Hard cheeses are made from cow’s milk, like many British varieties, and include two types: “cooked”, where the whey is heated (this cheese can usually be kept for quite a while), and “uncooked”. It is often made in mountainous regions and includes cantal, comté, tomme and reblochon. Well-known blue cheeses include roquefort, bleu d’Auvergne, fourme d’Ambert and St Agur. There is also fromage frais, fresh cheese, which includes Boursin.
And we mustn’t forget that other beloved French cheese, la vache qui rit… the laughing cow!”
Index Terms : French gastronomy, cheese, symbols.
Found with : RSS Feeds “The Telegraph”.
MP
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