Day 2091 (Tuesday) 28th February 2023.

Today’s photos

Villefranche sur Mer

We think this is Gorbio, above the Maybourne Riviera

Guess what…I’ve found yet another story about French cheese. It’s quite long so I’m putting half on today and the other half tomorrow. I love the way they recommend what to drink with each cheese.

32 Most Popular French Cheeses by Thomas Poussard

Nobody knows for sure how many different cheeses you can find in France. The latest estimations point to 1,600 different types, although you may also find numbers varying between 350 and 450; that’s because there are many different ways to classify cheeses in France, either by categories, varieties, or types:

The kind of milk used to produce the cheese (cow’s, goat’s, or sheep’s).

How it is made (cooked, uncooked, pressed, hard, semi-hard, white-mold, blue-veined, fresh, processed…).

Whether it is fermier (made at the farm where the milk was produced), artisanal (small production using milk from the same farm and from other small local producers), made at a coopérative (a dairy with local milk producers who come together to make cheese), or industrially produce in a medium to large factory. The best cheese is fermier and artisanal.

Whether it has an AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée), an AOG (Appellation d’Origine Garantie), an IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée), all of which are quality labels awarded by the government, or whether it has no certification at all. To give you an idea, only 56 types of French cheeses have such labels.

But let’s get real here: what matters most to you is what these cheese tastes like and how to consume it. So let’s cut to the cheese (pun intended!) and get to the meat of the thing. And for that purpose, we have divided them into seven main categories:

1. Fresh Cheese

These are not cooked, not aged, and have no rind… It’s cheese as its most simple expression. This gives them great versatility, as they can be eaten with sugar, salt, savoury dishes, spices, honey, berries. The pairing combinations are endless.

Every single region of France produces fresh cheese, so there is not one in particular that stands out. The two varieties mentioned below are, by default, industrially produced.

However, if you have the opportunity to buy fresh cheese from the local farmers’ market, chances are it will be much tastier than the two we mention here.

Boursin

One of the most known commonly consumed fresh cheeses in France, this one is fresh and creamy, and flavoured with aromatic herbs and spices.

Because of its commercial success, this industrial cheese is now produced with many flavours such as tomato, pepper, garlic, etc. Wine pairing: A rosé de Provence is a good choice to go with the freshness of the cheese.

Le Roulé

Another industrial cheese, not to the level of Boursin though. A fresh, creamy goat’s cheese flavoured with garlic, herbs, peppers or even cranberry, it goes very well on bread for breakfast, or as an appetizer. Wine pairing: Try it with a dry Champagne.

Credit: @westbournmarket on instagram.

2. Soft Cheese

These are cheeses that are unpressed and have a soft rind. This is probably the largest category in the list and famous varieties are Camembert and Brie.

Brie

Produced near Paris, this is probably the ideal introduction to the world of French cheeses if you have had no previous experience whatsoever. It is creamy, soft, and very mild—in short: easy for everybody to eat.

By the way, there are two different types: the Brie de Meaux and the Brie de Melun. The main differences between the two? The aging period, the draining, the way they are moulded, and the Brie de Meaux cheese is a bit larger. Wine pairing: A light Pinot noir from Burgundy.

Camembert

This is perhaps the most iconic of French cheeses, the one that features in the cliché of the Frenchman with the béret, baguette, and bottle of wine. Soft and creamy, Camembert comes from Normandy, the land of many cows.

If you let it age too long, it literally falls apart and has a rather strong smell. Camembert can also be baked in the oven in its round wooden box, to eat melted with crust bread, a little bit of rosemary, and walnuts. Wine pairing: A robust Anjou-Gamay or Chinon.

Époisses

The most famous cheese in Burgundy, it is created by monks from the village of the same name. The colour ranges from yellow to orange on the outside and it is white inside.

It is extremely soft and has a very distinctive flavour. Wine pairing: Actually, this one is probably better with a good beer made by other monks, the trappists from Belgium.

Livarot

This is another cheese from Normandy and is probably the finest of them all. Smooth and creamy, it has flavours that range from nutty to spicy and even citrusy.

Livarot melts in the mouth, so much so that it will drip if you aren’t careful. Wine pairing: Let’s get off the beaten track here and suggest Calvados, a local brandy.

Mont-d’Or

This cheese from the east of France, not too far from Switzerland, has a distinctive woody taste—that’s because it matures in a round wooden frame.

Featuring a beige crust, the Mont-d’Or is surprisingly soft inside, to the point where it runs (hence the wooden belt used during maturation to retain its shape).

While it has a strong taste, it appeals to everyone, making it a popular cheese. Wine pairing: Perfect with a dry white wine from Jura.

Munster

Although it sounds German, this is actually a French cheese from the Lorraine region, a region which was once German.

Monks invented it initially to preserve milk and feed people. I must warn you with this one is a strong cheese, with a slight cumin flavour.

Even if you pick an unripe one, the flavour will really hit you. But if you want to try it, perhaps put it in a quiche. Wine pairing: A wine from Alsace, such as a Gewürtztraminer.

Pont-L’Évêque

This soft, rind-washed cheese, similar to Camembert and also from Normandy, comes in smaller, square-shaped portions.

It is also stronger in taste and can get very smelly if you leave it open too long. Wine pairing: A red from Madiran or Pécharmant.

Saint-Nectaire

Some argue this is the best cheese made in France. Maybe. Though there is a but: the quality and taste vary widely. Despite this. you can always find a good one.

First, make sure to pick a Saint-Nectaire fermier—that means not from the supermarket, rather buy from a specialist cheese store. And make sure that it is mature: the Saint-Nectaire is one of those cheeses that are not so good when young.

How can you tell? The texture should be soft and elastic. The best ones are creamy and supple inside, with aromas that go from nutty to mushroom-y. Wine pairing: A mature Saint-Nectaire, a red Bordeaux, is great.

3. Hard Cheese

These are usually very big, round-shaped cheeses that are produced in the mountains from cow’s milk.

This is important, because the variety of the green herbs and flowers they eat play a big role in the final taste of the cheeses. Some of them feature those famous large holes that result from the fermentation process.

The variety of the green herbs and flowers eaten by cows play a big role in the final taste of the cheeses.

Cantal

A large, very large cheese, the Cantal can weigh up to 100 pounds! Produced in a low mountain range, it is similar to an English farmhouse cheddar. Now, if you want to try the really tasty Cantal, choose a matured one, such as Vieux Cantal.

It is quite a tasty variety, stronger and more flavorful than the other hard cheeses on this list. A very similar one and equally flavourful is Salers, produced with the milk from a breed of cow called… Salers. Wine pairing: A fresh Beaujolais.

Comté

One of the most widely produced types of cheese (in volume) in France, it is renowned internationally for its quality. Made in the Alps, it is very yellow, smooth, and tasty.

You can find it at any supermarket in the country. It is often served in small cubes as an appetizer, but is absolutely delicious melted over potatoes, leeks, or toasted bread. Wine pairing: A fine red Burgundy.

Emmental

You could say that Emmental is somewhat similar to Comté, but it is not as fine or tasty—though it is cheaper.

This is one of the famous “cheeses with big holes” that you can easily find at any supermarket. Emmental is often used grated to go with pasta or in sandwiches. Wine pairing: Anything red, really.

Mimolette

This is one of the few hard cheeses that is not produced in the mountains. This one comes from the (very flat) North of France. This particular variety was inspired by the Dutch cheese Edam.

The two are very similar in aspect and flavour. Wine pairing: Because it is Dutch-style, let’s go with a beer, for a change, such as a Hoegaarden.

More to come tomorrow