What am I eating?

Jurançon wine from the Bearn region around Pau







I recently spent my birthday in Pau, a nearby city with a fairytale-like chateau and a lovely view of the Pyrenees mountains. Before my amazing dinner of duck breast in a raspberry sauce, we had aperitifs at a wine bar. It was a small place called "Oh grain de raisin" and served various wines, including the dry, white Jurançon from the region. Dave had a glass of that, while I had a red Bordeaux. Both wines were very delicious. I actually became fascinated by the cheese plate we ordered. It had three types: Brie, Brebis, and an unidentified white, soft cheese with pepper throughout. First off, I mistook the Brie for Camembert, because it had almost the exact same flavor. The bartender corrected me. The Brebis was aged, firm, and incredible. I kept popping more and more slivers into my mouth as I sipped my wine. The third cheese was very good, as well, but neither of us can remember its name. I wish I had taken a photo or written down what the bartender told me. And because of the pepper, it is even harder to identify. We can't really match it to another cheese that we see at the market, unless it's the exact one. The taste would be different, too. All I know is that it was from cow milk, white, soft and slightly creamy, had a thin rind, and had pepper throughout.

It can be so frustrating to taste a cheese in France that you really enjoy and not be able to figure out what it is. I either have difficulty remembering the name or understanding the name through a thick accent. For all I know, the bartender could have said "goat", though it didn't taste like goat cheese.

So, how to figure out the name of a cheese you're tasting without looking like a fool because you have to ask someone to repeat the name for you three times??? I don't know. Take a photo and match it to a cheese later. Have the person write it down. Try your best to remember the sound of the name, then write down the phonic spelling and research it later. Or just try to remember what it looks and tastes like and try a dozen cheeses, hoping you'll find it. I don't really have good advice about this. In hindsight, I would've taken a photo and have the bartender write down the name for me. It's embarrassing, but oh well! Unfortunately, at this point, my only option is to try similar-looking cheeses until I find a match. I'll let you know if I have any success...

I really enjoyed this wine and cheese tasting experience in Pau. It made for a good birthday. I'd love to take advantage of living in the Bordeaux region by going on a wine or cheese tasting tour. That would be so amazing!

Mi-Chevre

"This [mixture of milk] gives a subtle combination of tastes and textures. As the cheese matures a bloomy rind develops as does a creamy consistency within." -All About French Cheeses







No, this isn't an April Fool's joke. To segue back from les mois de chevre to my review of other French cheeses, I decided to try a half-goat's milk, half-cow's milk cheese. This Mi-chevre, as it's known, comes from Vienne in the Poitou-Charentes region and is made from pasteurized milk. It is very creamy inside, much like Camembert. It also tastes similar to Camembert, but with a very light goat cheese flavor.

We enjoyed a little bit of it on some baguette, but soon found that we really liked it in a sandwich with slices of sausage, both toasted on the bread. It melted so much that it began to slip out of the sandwich and onto my favorite Paprika Pringles. (I will miss those, too!) I should try this with some Camembert. Sandwiches are very boring here, especially when bought at a bakery. One slice of meat and one slice of cheese, if any, with some mayonnaise or butter on a baguette...gets old. I avoid buying sandwiches here, except kebabs. So, it's nice to make a sandwich at home for less money and with better combinations. Meat is expensive, but mixing up the cheeses keeps it interesting and tasty. (Mi-chevre, sausage; Roquefort, mustard, prosciutto; chevre, ham) I think I'll have one tomorrow to finish off the remaining piece of Mi-chevre...

Also, I would like to note here that I came upon a website for The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. They have a decent selection (but no Mi-chevre) that I could order from online, but everything is so expensive! I really don't want to have to get my cheese from Beverly Hills or pay $20 for a ronde of it. Please, Trader Joe's, Bristol Farms, Whole Foods, have a better selection when I come home!!

Chevre I update

I posted this as a comment to the Chevre I piece, but I figured most people wouldn't see it. So, if you're interested in how the marinated Picodon turned out, read on...

"By the way, Dave and I tried the picodon that had been sitting in olive oil and herbs since November. It was delicious! It looked a little funky because the olive oil had solidified a bit on the top of the jar, but it didn't change the flavor.

We ate little slices of the cheese on baguette (it was even better when toasted) as we sipped some red wine. The olive oil and herbs added so much wonderful flavor to the cheese. I suggest that everyone try this at home with some fresh chevre (even a log of it would work), olive oil, and Herbes de Provence.

When Aida, William, and Charlotte visit us this month, we'll have to share it with them. I just hope we have enough self control now that we know how amazing it is.

I am completely indebted to Joelle Thierry for this recipe and the big jar of wonderful cheese!"

We have one more marinated Picodon left. Should we eat it or share it with William and Charlotte, who are coming to visit us next weekend? Dilemmas...

Chevre V: Sainte-Maure de Touraine

"The curdled milk is delicately put in the cylindrical mould with a ladle. Extreme caution should be taken to prevent the curds from being broken." (I never knew how careful a cheese maker must be.) -911 Chef Eric









Oh, what a name! I had trouble remembering it between the refrigerator and my office (mattress on bedroom floor). Sainte-Maure de Touraine comes from Touraine in the Loire/central area of France. There are many buches de chevre (goat cheese logs) out there, but this one is different. As the photo shows, something runs through the middle of this cheese. It has two purposes: to keep the cheese in its log form and to allow air into the middle of the cheese so that it matures more uniformly. The straw is made of rye and is sometimes written upon with a laser so that the consumer knows where the cheese originated. I bought this buche at the supermarket, so it didn't surprise me when I didn't find anything engraved on my rye straw. (if it's even rye!) The cheese is also coated with black ash, which is eventually covered with mold as it ages. Ours was of an average age; it hadn't begun to turn soft on the outside.

Poor Dave slaved away at this cheese because every time we ate it, he had to peel off the ashy mold. We ended up with some pretty lopsided cheese coins. We ate it on toasted baguette slices, either as an appetizer or on a salad, and both were delicious! We melted the cheese on the baguette, and we also spread cold cheese on toast; this kind of chevre is tasty however it's prepared! Sainte-Maure is pretty basic and subtle, so it would be good for someone who hasn't tried a slightly aged (2 or more weeks) chevre cheese before. Unfortunately, this buche de chevre is made from unpasteurized milk and isn't aged for the mandatory 60 days, so it isn't available in the US.

Stay tuned...I plan on explaining the difference between cheeses made from pasteurized milk and those made from unpasteurized milk. It will probably be more of a learning experience for me than for you. I will also cite my sources...

Chevre IV: Banon de Provence

"Banon de Provence was already being celebrated in the era of the Gallo-Romans by Emperor Antonin Le Pieux, who claimed he would eat this cheese until the day he dies." -Jean-Louis aux Chataigniers (translated from French)






I hereby present to you another scrumpdiddlyumptious goat cheese, except this one is wrapped in mystery...

My research on this cheese has been a slightly difficult process. My first hurdle was the name of the cheese! The sticker that came on ours said "Cavet" which is not the name of the cheese, but is actually the name of the farm where this one was made. Banon de Provence, as I soon learned to be its name, comes from Provence in the southeast of France. Ours came from a little town within Provence called Dieulefit.

Banon de Provence is made from unpasteurized goats milk, then wrapped in chestnut leaves and tied with raffia. Here is where the real mystery bubbles up to the surface; some sources claim that the little cheese package is dipped into white wine, while others say brandy. One website mentioned that it's soaked in sarriette, or savory. I don't actually know which ours was soaked in, but I'm going to guess it was white wine. It didn't hint at the flavor of brandy, nor did it remind me of thyme, which is a close equivalent to savory.

This chevre was still soft on the inside, though it was slightly aged. At first, I thought it had a bitter aftertaste, but I no longer noticed this flavor as I continued to eat it with toasted baguette. It is a little more tart than the other goat cheeses we've tried, but still has a subtle chevre flavor. I really enjoyed this cheese and especially liked the novelty of it being wrapped in a chestnut leaf. How French!!

We can supposedly order this cheese online, but on one site they claim Banon de Provence is made from cow's milk. I hope this doesn't prove to be a problem when I get home- that they aren't using the right kind of milk to make the cheese! It's tough enough that the cheeses available in the USA are all made from pasteurized milk. I suspect this specific cheese might be difficult to find at home. Is it safe to trust cheese that's delivered through the mail??

Chevre III: Rocamadour

"Monographs of the 15th century describe Rocamadour as a means of payment for the share-cropping and the taxes." -AF Touch Cuisine

This thin disk of cheese is ideal for the varied tasks of fromage de chèvre. It’s small, so we bought a few of them to test out its different uses. Naturally, it’s delicious when spread on baguette, and more-so when the baguette is toasted. What is special about this type of chèvre is how it melts perfectly on a slice of baguette when placed in the oven. We are huge fans of chèvre salads, so we were able to toast a couple pieces of Rocamadour and baguette for the top of our salad. It’s amazing! And so much better than a regular salad at a restaurant. It’s such a treat to bite in to the toasty, little circles.

The petite Rocamadour cheese has the typical, very discernible, goat cheese smell. It is also quite soft and seems as though it is melting when cut in to. It spreads easily on bread and crackers, which are especially complimentary to the cheese’s light saltiness.

This cheese gets its name from a small town called Rocamadour in the Southwestern départment (state) of Lot. We haven’t visited this town that’s built into a cliff, but it looks amazing. I believe they have a cheese festival there during Pentecost weekend. Of course, they have many different types to sample, not just Rocamadour. Maybe we will get a chance to go since it isn’t far from us.

You can enjoy this goat cheese as an appetizer or as a part of dessert, but as I mentioned, it goes remarkably well with a green salad. I have a feeling that something similar can be found in the U.S. Just be careful – it is not like the very soft rolls or pyramids of goat cheese found at the grocery store. While searching, remember that it has a soft, pale rind, which you do not need to cut off. I am really looking forward to keeping our chèvre salad tradition alive when we return home.

Update: Chevre Month

I didn't get to post more than my usual quota of 2 entries for this month, like I said I would. I know I still have time, but I'm going to Rome tomorrow, then Morocco for a week. I won't be back home until the beginning of March. I promise to bring you some very exciting tales of my adventures with cheese in Italy and Morocco when I return. And I will be extending Chevre Month through March. You have much to look forward to. Check back in 2 weeks!