All things cheese
I don’t think you can talk much about French food without mentioning cheese! Different sources list different numbers of cheeses that are produced in France - but it’s safe to say there are hundreds of cheeses that are made here. There are the big brands that you’ll find in almost every supermarket, but there are so many more varieties of cheeses that can be found at your local fromagerie.
but what exactly makes a cheese different? Why are there so many varieties?
Cheese making steps
This is an overview on the steps to make cheese. The steps will vary between different cheeses, some require extra steps, and some require a lot more time.
- selecting the milk. During this phase, the milk is often heated to kill organisms that could cause the cheese to spoil and to prepare it for the acidification. The most common milks in France are cow, goat and sheep.
- acidification. This involves adding either acid (vinegar or citrus acid) into the milk or adding cultures (living bacteria)
- coagulation. During this stage an enzyme is added, usually rennet. Rennet traditionally comes from the stomach of an animal. There are now alternatives to rennet that do not rely on animals such as fig leaves and nettles.
- curds and whey. The curds are the solid part of the cheese, the whey is the liquid part that is left. This stage really influences the end cheese. You cut the curds, which encourages them to expel their whey. Generally, the smaller the pieces, the harder the cheese.
- processing the curds. This step is a continuation of separating the curds and the whey. Heating up, stirring and washing can be used (individually or combined). Once done, the whey is drained.
- salting. This can be done in different ways, either by adding the salt to the curds, the outside can be rubbed in salt, or it can be added to the brine. Salting is an important step when it comes to flavour, but also helps to preserve the cheese while it’s ageing. Other herbs, spices and flavourings can be added at this stage as well
- shaping. The salted curds are put into their mold and left there for a certain amount of time to solidify - the time will depend on the cheese you are making.
- Ageing the cheese. This steps depends on what you’re making, some cheeses don’t need to age at all, other need months or even years!
Variations
There are a lot of different variations that are responsible for the end result - take brie and comté, both are made from cows milk but are not cheeses you are likely to confuse with each other!
Some (not all!) of the variations are:
- the milk chosen (cow, goats or sheep milk)
- the ratio of fat in the milk
- the temperature and speed of heating of the milk
- choice of enzyme used in the coagulation step
- the cutting of the curd (how small the pieces are)
- method of salting
- length of time left to age
- use of mould (internal mould vs surface mould)
- degree of humidity and temperature of the cheese maturation caves
AOP vs AOC
Many cheeses in France will have a label AOP - Appellation d’origine protégée - there are over 4O cheeses with this label in France. This is a european label put on certain products which shows that the product has been produced, processed and developed in a specific geographical area using specific ingredients and local know-how. All of these help keep certain traditions alive.
In France, there is also the AOC - Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée - label where the origins date back to 1411 when the production of Roquefort was regulated by parliamentary decree. Since the introduction of the AOP, cheeses no longer use the AOC label, however wine and certain other products can still have this label.
The eight families of cheese
There are eight different cheese families. In French this is called les huit familles de fromage.
- fresh cheeses, fromages frais
- soft cheeses with a flowery rinds, Les fromages à pâte molle, à croûte fleurie: including the classics camembert and brie
- soft cheeses with washed rinds, Les fromages à pâte molle, à croûte lavée: including maroilles and pont l’evêque
- Uncooked pressed cheeses, Les fromages à pâte pressée non cuite: including reblochon, cantal
- cooked pressed cheeses, Les fromages à pâte pressée cuite: including comté
- marbled cheeses (blue cheeses), Les fromages à pâte persillée: including roquefort
- goat’s milk cheeses, Les fromages de chèvre
- processed cheeses, Les fromages fondus: including La Vache Qui Rit (the laughing cow)
Cheese tasting
Cheese tasting, is something that is a lot of fun but can be quite intimidating. Part of cheese tasting, is also using other senses. Both sight, touch and smell go a long way in knowing what to expect.
The first thing to do, is to look at the cheese. What colour is the cheese? What does the texture look like? What type of rind does the cheese have? The colour of the cheese is an indication on the milk used - a white cheese is usually goats or sheep cheese, whereas a pale yellow colour is cows milk - this is related to how cows process the beta-carotene found in the grass. Cheeses that are an orange colour are usually dyed.
Next, you’re going to need to cut it. Cutting the cheese is an important step, you want to make sure the rind is evenly distributed across all pieces. No one wants to get the piece with all the rind! The shape of the cheese changes the way you need to cut it - circles and square cheeses are cut like a pie, pointed cheeses like brie are cut into rays (cut lengthways). When you’re cutting the cheese, you should pay attention to the texture. How easy is it to cut? Is it a soft or hard cheese?
Next, notice what you smell. Is it a strong smelling cheese? What notes are there? Take a moment to think about what you can notice - you can notice a lot just from the smell.
And, now you’re onto the tasting part! Here are some of the things you can pay attention to:
- is it more sweet or savoury?
- is there an acidic taste?
- is there a fermented taste?
- are there any floral notes?
- does it taste grassy?
- can you taste any herbs?
- is it buttery?
- does it have a soft taste, or something more sharp?