After years of disappointing encounters, I stopped buying Camembert and Tomme de Savoie. The French Camembert sold in the U.S. always tasted lifeless to me. The Tomme was often stale or cardboardy. My wonderful taste memories from France did not jibe with the sorry specimens I was finding at American cheese counters. But then came Mons. Thanks to French affineur Hervé Mons and his team, we’re getting superb versions of these two classic cheeses, and others as well. In anticipation of Bastille Day, I assembled an all-Mons cheese board. So much deliciousness on one tray! Then I reached out to Fromagerie Mons to see if they could explain his magic touch.
Read moreSummer of Chèvre
A creamy goat cheese coated with sweet paprika, shallots and garlic, Fleur Soleil is my new summer crush. With a bottle of rosé, a fresh baguette and a salad, there’s lunch. Or dinner. Or a picnic. I could eat this dreamy cheese all day long. The texture is almost fluffy, and the seasoning is bold but not overdone. Just in time to pair with summer tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and peppers.
Read moreHead of the Class
Whatever they are doing at Fromagerie P. Jacquin to make this gorgeous, glorious goat cheese, I wish they’d reveal it. Is it the Loire Valley microclimate or simply French savoir-faire? Maybe it’s the expertise that comes from making the same cheeses for 60 years. Whatever, this chèvre has it all: good looks, luscious texture, big mushroomy aroma. To be honest, I’m often disappointed by goat cheeses in this style—they can be chalky or dense and lacking in scent—but this beauty is a pure delight.
Read moreCrackers by You!
You may recall that I went crazy for these crackers last year. They’re from Top Seedz, a small company in Buffalo, New York. Many of you told me you bought some and found them as irresistible as I did. Now you can make them. At home. So they’re as fresh as can be. Top Seedz has developed a packaged mix for home bakers, and it really works. I made the crispy shards pictured above.
Read moreFromages Without End
Who knows whether Charles de Gaulle really said, “How can you govern a country that makes 246 cheeses?” If he did, he was underestimating. I think I’ve had 246 French cheeses myself, and I’m still discovering new ones. Take a look at the seven beauties I served last week in my “France Off the Beaten Path” tasting and see how many you know. Two were new to me. And I have to say, the class favorite surprised me.
Read moreWandering the Backroads
My dream job—and maybe yours, too—would be traveling the backroads of Europe as a Cheese Explorer, hunting for undiscovered cheeses at local farmers’ markets and in off-the-beaten-path bistros. I don’t get to do this but, fortunately, others do. That’s how American distributors keep receiving exquisite, unusual wheels from Europe that are hardly known there. This goat’s milk beauty comes from a scenic part of western France called Venise Verte (“Green Venice”). Did you even know this lush, canal-laced region existed? I didn’t, but I intend to go at the first opportunity. Maybe I’ll stumble on more goat cheeses as fabulous as this one.
Read moreStar Power
This little French beauty has a charming name and a touching back story. But more important, it’s delightful and just right for warm-weather cheese boards. Add a leafy green salad with lots of chopped fresh chives, a baguette and a bottle of Sancerre. Acclaimed affineur Hervé Mons had a hand in this cheese’s creation, so you know it’s sublime.
Read morePass the Goat Cheese, Please
It doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but I still get people telling me they don’t like goat cheese. Really? You’re writing off the whole vast category? I’m pretty sure these folks mean they don’t like tangy, chalky fresh chèvre that smells like a goat barn. I don’t either. But who wouldn’t fall for the two lovelies pictured here? Both are French, nutty, mellow, marvelous and made from goat’s milk, and we’ll be tasting one of them at Cheese O’Clock on February 18.
Read moreHomemade Panforte for Holiday Cheese
It’s not the holidays around here without homemade panforte. Although I’ve never met a panforte I didn’t like, I like mine best. It’s moderate on the spicing and heavy on the toasted nuts. Plus dried figs, honey, cocoa, aniseed. Oh, yum. Back in the day when we had dinner guests, I would put thin slices on the cheese board with a mellow, creamy blue (here: Fourme d’Ambert) and open a sweet wine. This year at my house, it’s panforte for two, but that won’t be a problem.
Read moreCheese Takes a Beating
Travel woes: (clockwise from upper left) Camembert au Calvados; Clochette; Burrata; French ashed cheeses
Maybe cheese wasn’t the first thing you thought about when President Trump announced a 30-day ban on flights from Europe last week. But cheese is, indeed, a victim. It won’t be getting on planes, either. All those lovely soft spring goat cheeses from the Loire Valley…fresh mozzarella and burrata from Campania…delicate robiolas from Piemonte…these cheeses and many others have effectively had their passports revoked. “Trump said it’s not going to affect cargo, but it doesn’t work that way,” says Stephanie Ciano of World’s Best Cheese, a major importer.
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