Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [137]
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THE FIVE BASIC CHEESE TYPES
The choice on offer at a fromagerie (cheese shop) can be overwhelming, but fromagers (cheese merchants) always allow you to sample what’s on offer before you buy, and are usually very generous with their guidance and pairing advice. The following list divides French cheeses into five main groups – as they are usually divided in a fromagerie – and recommends several types to try.
Fromage à pâte demi-dure ‘Semi-hard cheese’ means uncooked, pressed cheese. Among the finest are Tomme de Savoie, made from either raw or pasteurised cow’s milk; Cantal, a cow’s milk cheese from Auvergne that tastes something like cheddar; Saint Nectaire, a strong-smelling pressed cheese that has both a strong and complex taste; and Ossau-Iraty, a ewe’s milk cheese made in the Basque Country.
Fromage à pâte dure ‘Hard cheese’ is always cooked and pressed in France. Among the most popular are: Beaufort, a grainy cow’s milk cheese with a slightly fruity taste from Rhône-Alpes; Comté, a cheese made with raw cow’s milk in Franche-Comté; Emmental, a cow’s milk cheese made all over France; and Mimolette, an Edam-like bright orange cheese from Lille that can be aged for up to 36 months.
Fromage à pâte molle ‘Soft cheese’ is moulded or rind-washed. Camembert, a classic moulded cheese from Normandy that for many is synonymous with ‘French cheese’, and the refined Brie de Meaux are both made from raw cow’s milk; Munster from Alsace, mild Chaource and strong-smelling Langres from Champagne, and the odorous Époisses de Bourgogne are rind-washed, fine-textured cheeses.
Fromage à pâte persillée ‘Marbled’ or ‘blue cheese’ is so called because the veins often resemble persille (parsley). Roquefort is a ewe’s milk veined cheese that is to many the king of French cheeses. Fourme d’Ambert is a very mild cow’s milk cheese from Rhône-Alpes. Bleu du Haut Jura (also called Bleu de Gex) is a mild, blue-veined mountain cheese.
Fromage de chèvre ‘Goat’s milk cheese’ is usually creamy and both sweet and a little salty when fresh, but hardens and gets much saltier as it matures. Among the best varieties are: Sainte Maure de Touraine, a creamy, mild cheese from the Loire region; Crottin de Chavignol, a classic though saltier variety from Burgundy; Cabécou de Rocamadour from Midi-Pyrenées, often served warm with salad or marinated in oil and rosemary; and Saint Marcellin, a soft white cheese from Lyon.
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Wine and cheese are often a match made in heaven. It’s a matter of taste, but in general, strong, pungent cheeses require a young, full-bodied red or a sweet wine, while soft cheeses with a refined flavour call for more quality and age in the wine. Some classic pairings include: Alsatian Gewürztraminer and Munster; Côtes du Rhone red with Roquefort; Côte d’Or (Burgundy) red and Brie or Camembert; and mature Bordeaux with Emmental or Cantal. Even Champagne can get into the act; drink it with Chaource, a mild cheese that smells of mushrooms.
CHARCUTERIE
Traditionally charcuterie is made only from pork, though a number of other meats – from beef and veal to chicken and goose – are now used in making sausages, blood puddings, hams, and other cured and salted meats. Pâtés, terrines and rillettes are essentially charcuterie and are prepared in many different ways.
The difference between a pâté and a terrine is academic: a pâté is removed from its container and sliced before it is served or sold, while a terrine is sliced while still in the container. Rillettes, on the other hand, is potted meat (pork, goose, duck or rabbit) or fish that is not ground, chopped or sliced but shredded, seasoned, mixed with fat and spread cold, like pâté, over bread or toast.
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