Authentic France Travel Tip #15: Eat Fromage!

France is truly the land of yummy cheese. The dairy aisles at the local supermarkets are an epicurean's utopia, not to mention the cheese stands at the local French markets.

The French like to say that there are 365 different types of cheese in France, one for every day of the year. However, you don't have to be a math whiz to figure out very quickly that there are WAY MORE than 365 different types of cheese in France. Almost every region, and then every little part of every region, boasts one or more varieties of their own local cheese.

Check out the cheese platter(s) served at our New Year's feast at Charlotte Buffet's house. That blurry hand is our friend Martial, who brought a delicious selection of cheese from the neighbouring Jura region where he works, describing each cheese to us.

Just a word to the wise, don't be scared off by smelly cheeses, they are often very mild in taste and you may find yourself developing a penchant for them. Camille never misses the cheese course. She sniffs around the platter like a bloodhound and then asks me, "which do you think is the smelliest?"

It is invariably a Munster or an Epoisses, and that is the one she chooses. She often turns away cheeses such as Comte because in her words,"it isn't smelly enough."

Tasting French cheeses gives you a glimpse of the mind-blowing diversity of France's regions and cuisine. Here are few of my local Burgundian favorites;

Fromage de Cîteaux

We pick up this round, mild cheese whenever we go to Vespers at the local Cistercian monastery just outside of Nuits-Saint-Georges. The monks make it themselves, from milking the cows to wrapping the final product up in its traditional blue and white wrapper.

Epoisses

A local cheese that is renowned for its smelliness (it is one of Camille's favorites). However, even though it can make you think perhaps you have left a pair of filthy socks in the fridge by mistake, its taste is surprisingly mild and creamy. It is matured using repetitive washes of marc de bourgogne, which is the hard alcohol made with the grape stems left over after the grapes have been pressed for wine. We always buy Epoisses made by Berthault - in our humble opinion it is the best by a long shot. They also make a wonderful Soumaintrain, which is a larger, milder form of Epoisses.

Ami de Chambertin

This is probably my favorite local cheese, and is pictured at the very top. It is basically a smaller, stronger version of Epoisses. I was introduced to this cheese by my first host mother when I was freshly off the plane from Canada, and the love affair has continued ever since.

Delice to Pommard

This is an extremely mild, triple cream goat's cheese that contrasts very nicely with stronger cheeses such as Epoisses. It is a ball shape and rolled in crushed mustard grains (Dijon mustard being another one of our famed local products here in Burgundy). This cheese is made by Alain Hess, one of the best cheese makers around and who also runs a gorgeous store on the Place Carnot in Beaune under his own name. Not to be missed, for the smelly smells alone!