Today is my tenth day on the French Cheese Challenge! I am still enjoying it, and no I do not eat a whole block of cheese each day – but I do taste the designated cheese each day!

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I had a busy day today – I went to see the Tour de France pass by near Basse Copette and then on to see a Gallo-Roman theatre in Vendeuil-Caply. So not much time for researching and thinking about the cheese on the menu today: Tomme de Savoie.

From the mountains in the Savoie region of France, the makers of this cheese claim that its distinctive taste comes from the rich and varied flora that their cows graze on. The cheese is made from the skim milk left after it has been used for the making of cream or other cheeses. As a result Tomme de Savoie has a low fat content. Like the Saint-Nectaire I had yesterday, this cheese is also pressed and uncooked. It also has an edible rind that is brown-grey in colour, that develops after several months of maturing. Continue reading →

Having done my duty to the cheese of region I live in on day one, and used my favourite cheese for day two, now for the real fun of my 365 French Cheese Challenge. Today I tried a cheese I have not had before, Saint-Nectaire from the Auvergne region of France.

As I have not tried Saint-Nectaire before I thought I would have it as is, with fresh home-made wholegrain bread and an apple and tomato chutney. But the official website for this AOC, linked to below, does have some interesting looking recipes. Although it is matured for a few months it has quite a soft taste, looking at the cheese I was expecting a stronger taste; the soft creaminess of the pâte was a bit of a surprise. Continue reading →

Loyalty towards and a pride for the region of France I live in, Pays de Brays, meant that I just had to start my French Cheese Challenge yesterday with Neufchâtel. So I think it is quite acceptable that the second day of my challenge is my favourite cheese, Rocamadour.

Rocamadour is a goat’s milk cheese that takes its name from a Medieval village that really does appear as if to cling to the side of a cliff in the south west of France. This wonderful cheese was accorded its appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) designation in 1996. Rocamadour comes as small medallions, which should be about 4 cm in diameter and weighing between 35 and 55 grams each. True AOC Rocamadour cheese is made from raw, unpasteurised full fat goat’s milk. And of all the conditions for this cheese’s AOC, each medallion must have its own paper label. Continue reading →

Appropriately, I am starting my cheese challenge with the local cheese, Neufchâtel, which takes its name from the town of Neufchâtel-en-Bray (Upper Normandy). And coincidentally it just so happens to be one of my favourite French cheeses. Neufchâtel cheese is said to be one of the oldest cheeses of France.

Neufchâtel is a soft, cow’s milk cheese that has a dry, white mould-ripened rind (edible) with a slightly crumbly interior when fresh, that becomes runny when mature. Neufchâtel cheese is now known for its heart shape, but it is also available in a barrel or a brick shape. Local folklore has it that the heart shaped version of this cheese was produced during the 100 years war for the English soldiers. As wonderful as this story sounds, sadly there does not appear to be any corroborating historical evidence to back it up. There is, however, evidence that Neufchâtel cheese was made back in the sixth century; making it one of France’s oldest cheeses. Continue reading →