In 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle asked, “How can you govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?” 🧀 And while the quote remains popular to this day, there are closer to 1,600 distinct types of French cheeses.
These are a few of my favorite fromages when I go to the marché:
1 – Comté. A harder cheese, this is a crowd-pleaser and a great one to take to a picnic. You can find comté aged up to 30 months, but I often prefer the 18-month old version of this cheese. It’s a bit creamier, and the flavor is more subtle.
2 – Bleu d’Auvergne. I was never a big fan of blue cheese until I came across this one. I adore this cheese. It is perfect on a cheese platter, paired with dried fruits, a steak, or just nibbled by itself.
3 – Époisses is not for the faint of heart. The smell might be a little off-putting, but it is HEAVEN in your mouth. It comes in a wood container, and you’ll want to leave it out and come to room temperature before eating. As it warms up, the cheese becomes ooey-gooey. You can scoop it out or just go in with a slice of bread and dip. I love this stuff!
4 – While there are many different types of cheese from the island of Corsica, the one I am referring to here is a brand called “Corsica.” It’s a sheep’s cheese made in the Borgo region, Haute-Corse. Savory, a little salty – it is creamy yet sliceable.
5 – Fromage blanc. While this is technically a cheese, you can find fromage blanc in the yogurt section of the grocery store. In the morning, I eat this almost daily and have a favorite vanilla brand that I buy. Because it is classified as a cheese, the FDA requires pasteurized milk to import it to the US. It wasn’t until I moved to France that I realized that the product in the States was udderly 😉😉 different. And how fantastic fromage blanc is here in France.
What is your favorite French cheese? Have you tried any of these?
Bisous and big hugs 🤗 from France,
Shannon