Been awhile since I've updated everyone on the progress of my goal of trying all the cheese families of France . . .At the risk of pushing my body into total lactose intolerance and seizing up my arteries, I decided to pace myself by focusing on the AOC (Appelation d'Origine Controlee) cheeses first - think copyright protection for french cheeses - since they are more widely available (and a shorter list of only 51). So just counting the AOC cheeses, I'm at 31.37%. If you count all the cheeses, I'm at a paltry 10.84%.
I've also improved the process, since it's kind of easy to get distracted while shopping. I now walk around with my list of cheeses, so when I'm at the market, I know which ones I have to get for the week (I can't make that up). I'm going to have to start going to a dedicated cheese shop, since I've pretty much exhausted the cheeses at my haunts. This week we have: Beaufort, Cantal, and St. Nectaire.
The Beaufort is made in Savoie (French Alps) and its related to the Swiss Gruyere cheeses. In fact, the french call it the Prince of the Gruyeres. It's made from cow's milk (Tarine cows to be exact), and is pressed with a 20 to 70 kilo stone weight, which prevents it from having typical Swiss holes. It has a natural crust and is slightly salted. Yea, but how does it taste - a very good gruyere - almost tangy, but not too strong - Laurence uses this in her fondue, which makes a lot of sense.
Next is the Cantal, which comes from Auvergne just west of the French Alps. Also a cow cheese (don't know the breed), and since living in the mountains could be a little tough, this cheese was made to survive the winter to feed everyone. Very similar in taste to the Beaufort, but a little more mild. They also seem to break this cheese down into young, middle age, and old based on how long it's aged - anywhere from 1 month to a year. And they also have to flip this one twice a week. Apparently they make a killer 'cheesy' potatoes recipe with this cheese call 'truffade' - but it sounds a bit heavy for our recent 95 degree weather.
Finally, the Saint Nectaire, also from Auvergne, and also a cow cheese (breed is Salers). Looks like the best time to eat it is anywhere from May to October - was a bit nutty, but I didn't get the mushroom taste. It also seemed to have a mild little ammonia taste that I get with Camembert, but I could be wrong. It's also pressed, but only lightly (3-4 pounds) - and I doubt you can get in the States, since most of the good ones are unpasteurized.
