Domaines & Terroirs

The Journal Marianne Defends Raw Milk Cheeses!

2016-06-06T19:30:00.002+02:00

The French journal Marianne recently released a special series edition entitled: Les derniers vrais fromages de France (The last real cheeses of France) written by the editor in chief, Périco Légasse. You can find it here in France on the newstands now. A little gem of a publication which lists 45 fabulous country cheeses that are still made artisanally, it is chock full of other interesting articles on the subject of protecting the "terroir" of farmhouse cheeses.

But it was the editorial that rang true for me, so I did a loose translation of it for you all.

Stop the Anti-raw milk lies ! There is no real cheese other than farmhouse

Until the installation of the technologies permitting them to be produced mechanically, at the beginning of the 20^th century, there was no cheese other than farmhouse cheese, made on a farm, with milk taken from cows, goats or sheep from the farm, fed in the fields of the farm. The herds progressed from the valley pastures, wooded countryside or plateaux, climbing to the beautiful grasses in mountain or summer pastures for the spring and summer seasons and, once winter came, resting in the barn eating the hay from the prairie. This peasant agriculture worked without sanitary constraints, the raw milk which had at its disposal natural antibodies to eliminate intruding bacteria, was contrary to pasteurised milk, which is extremely fragile if it is re-exposed to pathogenic bacteria. And if there was an accident, since zero risk is inexistent, it provoked infinitely less damage than the toxins of contemporary junk food.

Biodiversity was at its height reflecting the nuances of “terroir”. For example, in the little canton of Bricquebec, north of Cotentin in the department of Manche, there were no less than 20 producers of camembert in 2010. Originally from Cherbourg, my grandmother, born in 1899, remembered that one served 14 different camembert at the Sunday table in Quenillé, all of which being tasted, grandfather Vauvert could name each producer: such and such came from the farm La Chavinière, at Sottevast, and this one from the farm Pierrepont, at Quettehou. Normandy claimed a good two thousand farm atelier in the five departments and more than a hundred mechanical fabricators. Now only two farmhouse producers and eight of the last industrial producers using raw milk exist in 2016.

Here we must reveal a reality: the fact that as a result of the global sterilization in the prevailing environment and the level of normalized hygiene imposed at agricultural cooperatives in the last decade, raw milk is no longer as raw as it was in the past. The indigent microbial flora present in today’s natural environment is considerably inferior to what it was. The environment has change and nature with it. We now need to re-inseminate the milk to reinforce its capacity to ferment, all while running the risk of pathogenic contamination. This confirms that the most authentic cheese representing “terroir” are not what they were yesterday. A terrible confession!

This does take anything away from the quality of our farmhouse production, of which here at Marianne, we defend its permanence. The preservation of our cheese traditions become in effect a major issue faced with the more and more drastic norms that the professionals of raw milk unfairly have to put up with and the eagerness shown by some governments to catch them out, reminiscent of some ideological bias. Food security is not negotiable, except while it serves as a pretext to eradicate the competition to consolidate those parts of the market for the industrial lobby. Farmhouse cheeses are not the only ones to be squeezed; the small and medium sized milk producers attached to raw milk are also victims of this zeal, this harassment, by certain agencies of the state. The examples multiply.

Listeria is often a good excuse to obtain the closing of a production unit or destruction of a contaminated lot of cheese, while a new offensive is prepared by Brussels to try and establish the dangerousness of raw milk at a European scale. In 2015, a million tons of cheese was sacrificed under this sacrosanct hygieno-political dogma. Under the force of such pressures (and disguised repression), entire groups will finish by ending their production and the camp of “all things pasteurised” will win. All this rendering food banal in an aseptic and submissive world.

It is evident that, beyond the debate about durable agriculture, biodiversity disturbs the free-market system and that the financial equation of the industry-publicity-big distribution triad badly serves living products. Why? Simply because raw milk is more complex to treat on a large scale and that its passage through the industrial process requires onerous levels of control. Full of its active natural flora, cheese made with raw milk evolves more rapidly than pasteurised milk cheeses where the capacity to conserve them is much longer; therefore, more cost effective. Thermalization at 63°C or pasteurization at 72°C of milk limits constraints and augments the profit margins, the ideal for satisfying financial gains of consumerism. Especially for the shelves of the big distribution groups.

In 2007, the Groupe Lactalis and the Cooperative Isigny Sainte-Mère insisted that the rules for Camembert de Normandie abandon its AOC obligation to use raw milk so they could benefit from AOC labelling. The demand was rejected. However, for these merchants of plaster with their glorified labels, created from publicity campaign, the proponents of organoleptic and sensory authenticity from fermented pastes, i.e., farmhouse cheeses were supported by INAO for the moment, ensuring that we have our cake and can eat it too.…But will they always have the legal means to support this combat of David against Goliath? Their determination, and the vigilance of the aware consumer, holds the key to safeguarding the heritage of French cheese with respect to its origins. Hands off my cheese…farmhouse cheese that is!

Cheese Addict’s 12 Steps to Recovery

2016-06-01T18:42:00.002+02:00

Here is an amusing take on the recent blahblah about cheese being the new crack! In the Paris Update, a weekly Paris guide edited by Heidi Ellison, I found this funny column written by one of her contributers: David Jaggard, apparently a cheesehead of the first order.

In his article French Cheese: Confessions of a Casein Addict he kindly provides the rest of us with a 12 step program for cheese addicts. Read the entire article, it is funny but here are his 12 steps for you to contemplate while endulging in your habit:

The C’est Ironique Cheese Addict’s 12 Steps to Recovery (of More Cheese)

1. Admit that you, by yourself, are powerless over cheese. You also need a knife.

2. Believe in a power greater than what you have now — somewhere out there is a cheese that’s even more potently malodorous than anything you’ve ever smeared on bread. If only you could find it.

3. Make a decision to turn your life over to God as you understand Him, by which you understand Casomorphin.

4. Make a searching and fearless inventory of your moral shortcomings. Or, since that’s a drag, of the nearest cheese shop.

5. Admit to yourself, to Casomorphin and to another person, namely the cheese shop clerk, the exact nature of your uncontrolled cravings. Along with how much of each one you want.

6. Be fully ready to have Casomorphin remove any compunctions you might have about asking to sample dozens of different cheeses before buying.

7. Humbly beseech Casomorphin to keep delivering His opiate high without ruining your cholesterol levels or waistline.

8. Make a list of all the persons you have harmed in the past by breathing on them right after a big bite of gorgonzola.

9. Make direct amends to those people by inviting them over for fondue.

10. Continue to take regular personal inventories of your cheese stock and, when it falls low, promptly admit it. And (duh!) go buy more.

11. Seek through prayer (for more grocery money) and meditation (on the locations of various cheese shops) to improve, and indeed maximize, your communion with Casomorphin.

12. Having had a spiritual, or, failing that, gustatory awakening as the result of these steps, carry this message, and a cheese knife, everywhere you go.

Say Cheese Please!

2016-05-17T14:16:00.000+02:00

Recently I lead a cheese tasting (dégustation) for the American Womens Group here in Paris. Unlike we normally do, we went to one of my favourite fromageries - Griffon, near Ecole Militaire for a group visit of the shop guided by the always affable and totally knowlegeable team of Claire Griffon. One of the participants, Janet Robbins sent me a link to her blog Postcards From Paris where she posted a great recap of the visit entitled 'Say Cheese Please!'. The article is worth the read as Janet really nailed the essence of the moment and backed the visit up with a good deal of research on my favourite subject - CHEESE!

A Look at Pairing in the USA

2016-03-14T11:45:00.001+01:00

The Wall Street Journal published a great article on cheese in America worth taking a look at called The A to Z Guide to Cheese Plus Pungent Pairings by Tia Keenan. It features an interesting combination of world cheeses with amusing descriptions to go with them, like " a nutty, savory, beef-broth-y stunner with plenty of “crunchies” (amino acid clusters) that add a pleasant Pop Rocks-for-adults texture to many aged cheeses" or Époisses being "Stinky, funky, smooth as a velvet Elvis".

Then it proposes, with photos, some cheeseplate combinations of the selections they feature. Quite interesting combinations, not your usual ones either, which is the point of the article. There are some American cheese I would really like to try but can not get here in France, but there are some beautiful Italian and Spanish ones that if you look hard you can find here and in the UK.

This aticle proves that cheese has definately 'arrived' in the US and just like wine Americans are jumping into it with both feet! And as a side note, Culture Magazine reported that before banning them, the US Food & Drug Administration has decided to "reconsider the safety criteria" for raw milk cheeses ! Great news for all.

2016-03-12T22:36:00.000+01:00

The internet is an amazing thing. You can find all kinds of useful and useless information, anytime, anywhere. Following a link from a podcast about the International Cheese Competition, I read a very interesting article, albeit a bit old the other day regarding terroir and cheese. It was in the Feb 2002 issue of Wine Business Monthly and is called The Terroir of Cheese by Maria Lorraine Binchet.

It is one of the best and most focused discussion of the subject of terroir and cheese I have read. It describes the main differences between terroir in wine and in cheese and then goes indepth on the subject relative to cheese from the land, to the animals, to the process and the producers, all who add their special piece to the terroir of a fromage. Well worth the read!

Cheese & Sex

2016-01-18T19:49:00.001+01:00

Cheese eaters have a more active sex life? Who knew! Apparently according to an article on the website MinuteBuzz, cheese-addict have more sex than otherpeople. Yep! You read it right. The results of a survey made by the American dating site Skout, after questioning 4600 members about their sexual habits, the cheese-lovers have it...or at least have it more often!

According to researchers, it is the tryptophan in cheese that make the difference. This amino acid helps boosts serotonin or "the pleasure hormone", so people who eat lots of cheese have higher levels of the stuff coursing through their libido! The best part is that the stronger the cheese strong, the stronger the link. Yeehah! Now all you gotta do if eat more cheese especially the smelly, strong ones!

Cheese - the new wine! Why cheese is now the new healthy food.

2015-10-31T21:49:00.001+01:00

My friend Anne, a confirmed cheese fan, sent me this article The Health Benefits of Cheese in Berkeley Wellness | Sept 01, 2015. In it researchers say that cheese, not wine, may be what is largely responsible for the so-called French Paradox! Really? Whoa! How cool is that?

In short, some studies are now clearly showing that cheese is indeed good for you! Despite the saturated fats that exist in cheese all the probiotic properties coupled with the vitamins and minerals are just the tip of the iceberg.

Evidently some studies point to the conjugated linoleic acid in dairy fat and calcium in combination with other dairy components which help reduce body fat. Eating cheese also helps reduce cavities, keeps blood sugars in check for those with diabetes and may even help reduce colon cancer.

Apparently the good news is that recent studies now point towards the health benefits of cheese that us cheeseheads already knew, but now the rest of the world is starting to wake up to!

Milk Facts - Cow, Goat, Sheep

2015-09-01T22:30:00.000+02:00

Source:WorkSmartLiveSmart.com

Not all milk is the same, we all know that, but besides the obvious like the animal and which breed, what is the real difference?

All milk is made up of water, fat, protein, lactose and minerals but it is the composition of these constituents that makes the difference between them. The fat and protein vary greatly. The higher the solids content, the stronger the affect on the acidification and coagulation properties for cheese but also how the human body deals with it in milk form. The fat and protein content in cow's and goat's milk are fairly similar compared to sheep' milk; however the structure of the fat and protein is what's important.

Fat Content

98% of the fat in milk consists of triglycerides and are made up of fatty acid chains that vary in length. This issue is the size of the fat globules and the type of protein chain. Sheep and goat’s milk have short to medium chains producing smaller globules, cow’s milk has longer structures. The longer the chain length, the more easily it separates from the water but the more difficult for the human body to breakdown.

While sheep are notoriously difficult to milk, mostly because they have very small teats, the milk is naturally homogenized. This means the cream does not separate out of it but it also makes the milk easier to digest. Sheep produce less milk than their confrere. The upside is it has a very high fat content with the finest fat globules of the lot. Goat’s milk come second to sheep’s milk; with cow’s milk a distant third, having the largest fat globules and the longer fatty acid chains. Goat's milk is the closest to human milk and the least fatty of the three. It is the easiest on the human digestive system. It generally requires more milk to make cheese but because of the milks’ fat structure, the cheeses are less suited to aging.

Cow’s milk is the highest in water content of the three, which of course helps produce more quantity-wise. The typical breeds used for ‘industrial’ milk produce milk that is less well rounded in terms of character. For drinking, this is not an issue and the fact that due to its' structure, the cream rises and allows for making different percentages of fat content milk. For cheese production, the regional breeds in most countries produce milk with more complexity and a higher fat content which makes for better cheeses.

Milk Protein

Milk protein differs between milk types. There are two major types: caseins and whey proteins. Casein being the major of the two is what transforms when making cheese. In sheep’s milk 82% of the proteins are casein while it is 80% cow’s milk and 75% in goat’s milk, the rest being whey based. Casein protein has four different types and the proportions differ between the milk types – goat contains more of the beta caseins while cows’ has more alpha caseins with a particular one being the protein responsible for cows’ milk allergies.

What is important for cheese is that casein coagulates to form the structural backbone of cheese curd. Sheep’s milk coagulates more rapidly and forms much firmer curd thus sheep’s milk produces twice the amount of cheese per unit compared to cow’s or goat’s milk. The richness and cheese yield of sheep's milk makes up for the lower quantity of milk per animal. Goat’s milk with its lower amount of alpha casein and its beta casein has a lower yield (10 to 15 percent less) and is less adaptable to different cheese type.

It’s the sugar stupid!

Somebody who cannot digest lactose is said to be lactose intolerant. But it is the major sugar – not protein – found in animal milk that causes the problem here. The intolerance comes when the body’s ability to synthesizing the lactase is compromised. Lactase is the enzyme responsible for lactose metabolism and in the cheese making process, it is the energy source for our friendly bacteria.

All three of the milk types contain similar levels of lactose; therefore, one is not better than another for those with lactose intolerance when it comes to drinking or using milk. The good news is that during the process of making and aging cheese, most lactose is lost when the whey drains off and the little that is left begins to convert to lactase. The older the cheese, the less lactose! So long aged cheeses like Comté, Beaufort or the Pyrenees sheep’s milk cheeses all have practically no lactose left in them.

Just a fun note: Milks vary in colour. Cow’s milk tends to be yellow and varies by season because of the level of beta-carotene found in green forages. Some breeds process this pigment differently or more efficiently and produce very yellow milk – Jersey cows being a good example. Sheep and goat milks lack beta-carotene because they convert it into vitamin A which is not pigmented so these milks are whiter than cow’s milk.

Side by sidecomparison

Component	Unit	Cow Whole (3.25% fat)	Goat	Sheep
		--- Amount per 100 g ---
Overall Composition
Water	g	88.32	87.03	80.7
Energy	kcal	60	69	108
Carbohydrate²	g	4.52	4.45	5.36
Fat	g	3.25	4.14	7
Protein	g	3.22	3.56	5.98
Minerals (Ash)	g	0.69	0.82	0.96
Vitamins
Vitamin A	µg	28	57	44
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)	mg	0.183	0.138	0.355
Niacin (Vitamin B3)	mg	0.107	0.277	0.417
Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5)	mg	0.362	0.31	0.407
Vitamin C	mg	0	1.3	4.2
Vitamin D	IU	40	12	ND³
Minerals (Ash)
Calcium	mg	113	134	193
Magnesium	mg	10	14	18
Potassium	mg	143	204	137
Sodium	mg	40	50	44
Zinc	mg	0.4	0.3	0.54
Carbohydrate Detail
Lactose⁴	g	5.26	ND	ND
Fat Detail
Cholesterol	mg	10	11	27
Fatty acids, total saturated	g	1.865	2.677	4.603
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	g	0.812	1.109	1.724
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	g	0.195	0.149	0.308

Source:
http://www.milkfacts.info/Nutrition%20Facts/Nutrient%20Content.htm#Tab2

Cheese & Long Life...More proof that cheese is good for you

2015-08-23T19:34:00.001+02:00

And yet again, another study indicating that eating cheese not only is good for you, but can extend your life! The article which is entitled:

Cheese: the secret to a longer life and faster metabolism? in The Telegraph on Sunday 23 August 2015, sites a new Danish study that links cheese consumption with creating a faster metabolism and reduced obesity.

"Compared with milk intake, cheese consumption significantly reduced urinary citrate, creatine, and creatinine levels and significantly increased the microbiota-related metabolites butyrate, hippurate, and malonate. Correlation analyses indicated that microbial and lipid metabolism could be involved in the dairy-induced effects on blood cholesterol level", according to the Danish study quoted by the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry

Wha how! Add to this that non-pasterised milk cheeses are chock full of probiotics, minerals and vitamins and it's time to go out and get yourself a supply of beautiful, non-pasterised cheese and start making up some inroads into healthy living.

Why the EU is crippling French artisanal cheesemakers

2015-07-13T19:55:00.000+02:00

When the doyen of all things cheese in America Max McCalman posts an article on his FaceBook page from Newsweek regarding the very sad state of affairs in the French artisanal cheese world, you need to take notice. The article entitled French Cheesemakers Crippled by EU Health Measures by Ana Pouvreau and Mark Porter outline the ongoing David and Golith battle between the milk industry and the artisanal cheese makers of not just France but one would imagine elsewhere in the EU. Unfortunately, this situation has been longstanding and truly has wide reaching effects on the cheesemakers, the small diary farmers and ultimately the consumer.

Plain and simple, the big guys who want to dominate markets have no tolerance for the little guys. Their industrial processes, cheap, inferior milk and unforgiving bottom lines force them to use their immense power to shape the products available and the political landscape. There is an axiom about too many taxes kill tax, and the same idea can be applied here. Too many mediocre industrial, pasterized cheeses will ultimately obliterate "cheese".

It has always puzzled me why these industrial conglomerates drive the milk prices down thus destroying the small milk producers, in order to pump out crap, i.e., pasturized, tasteless, long-life "cheese" to control the market with their size, and also feel the need to squeeze out what is perceived as competion by the artisanal cheesmaker creating lait cru (unpasterised) cheese. These giants with deep pockets use thier influence to bury the little producers in regulations that will ultimately, and effectively, outlaw their products.

If people want to buy industrialized products in supermarkets or grocery stores and let them sit in their refigerators for weeks, let them, it is their choice, sad as it may be. But some of us who want to spend our hard earned cash on more expensive, and what we perceive as better products, then why should we not have that choice and right? Democracy and freedom of choice at work; market segmentation and profit margin intact...n'est pas? But no, this is not the mentality of the big agrobusinesses! Theirs is to dominate and kill off ALL competition. In France, this "competition" represents a meer 10% of the market. What company would not, and should not, be satisfied with that?

The president of an organization, Fromages de Terroirs, that supports unpasterized cheese producers in France, Veronique RICHEZ-LEROUGE, has waged this battle here in France for quite some time now. So she is now joined by Max McCalman on the American front to say - save our cheese! If it can happen in the EU it also happening in the US!

We, as supporters of artisanal producer, the diversity of our regional countryside and our terroir must not let this situation deteriorate further. A way of life is at stake as well as our own health. This is an example of capitalism when it is at it's worst and this course needs to be changed! Please do your part. Stand up and fight!

Aux armes chers citoyens et citoyennes! Viva la revolution!

2015-07-03T20:04:00.000+02:00

Wow, my friends in Loreto Aprutino, on the eastern coast of Italy above Pescara introduced me to this wonderful and special Pecorino from the mountains in Abruzzo. I brought an entire wheel of it home the last time I was visiting with them and doled it out very slowly and it just got better and better!

It is made in a beautiful place from beautiful goats by a very caring lady, so of course you will find a beautiful cheese! It is nutty, salty, lasts long on the palette and has a great, sweet tang to it!

Here is an interesting article by writer Anna Lebedeva about this rare cheese called Pecorino di Farindola.

pecorino di Farindola,pe

pecorino di Farindola,

Excellence versus perfection

2015-04-25T20:39:00.000+02:00

« If life were perfect, you wouldn’t have to live it! » This is my mantra. It is what makes life interesting and even though I am sometimes seduced by the idea of perfection, as an interior designer and a project director for over 30 years, I have seen my fair share of designers painstakingly search for a perfect design solution, a perfect detail, a perfect whatever, to no avail! One person’s perfection is another’s imperfection. A far better and more satisfying option has always been to search for the expression of excellence.

Interior design/architecture has always been about being in the middle, being the bridge between a myriad of disciplines – client, architects, engineers, cost consultants, constructors, providers and suppliers, all sorts of points of view and visions; where the most oft heard statement is “my idea is the only idea!”. Being the designer in the middle has always meant having to be inquisitive, creative, open, flexible and modest but above all respectful of all the various competing egos that make up a team.

So recently when a former colleague asked me to look at an addition to her CV that would explain why she was the appropriate candidate for an exciting new job, I got to thinking about perfection versus excellence. While the job was outside her discipline, it was by no means outside of her capabilities and expertise. She has always been able to produce creative design ideas; recognized projects, cost effective solutions and well run project teams. In other words, she has always been able to create and foster excellence from a diverse and sometime disparate group of players.

Every job, every client, every team varies from the others for all sorts of reasons. So why would this new discipline be different or more difficult for this talented designer/team leader than any other new project for her to be successful? It wouldn’t! The ability, passion and desire to create and foster excellence are the most important ingredients in any successful endeavour not the perfect candidate.

So you ask, what does any of this have to do with cheese? Cheese, like interior design, is no different; it is the ultimate team effort. The environment, the animal, the cheese maker, the process, the production, the ageing, the selection are all part of this search to produce an excellent example of a cheese. No not a perfect one because that can never exist, except perhaps in the mind (or mouth) of the beholder! Each one of them is different, unique, an exploration and expression of that cheese with those particular elements led by that specific person at that time and place. No two cheeses will ever be the same. And yet when all these different elements are led in unison towards excellence, the recipient – us - will have an excellent example in our possession to savour. And we can be grateful for all of the effort that "team leader" took to perfect excellence.

Eat More Cheese!

2015-04-14T19:48:00.000+02:00

And now you have it! Scientific proof that eating cheese is good for you. Here is an article in Time Magazine titled: Here’s Your New Science-Backed Reason to Eat More Cheese, by Mandy Oaklander dated April 13, 2015 that reveals all.

Did you really think otherwise? The average French person is thin and eats 57 pounds of it a year! So what are you waiting for? Go to your local cheesemonger and buy cheese!

Raw Milk and Affinage...are they sacrosanct?

2015-01-25T20:12:00.000+01:00

There are two issues that continuously present themselves in conversations about cheese, which never find resolution.

Are raw milk cheeses better than pasturised milk ones?

Is affinage (aging) an added value beyond the cheese making?

And while the world's problems won't be solved by answering these two quetions, in the cheese world, they never seem to go away. You find many different opinions and some fervent advocates on both sides of the fence, each one with their own viewpoint worth considering. This of course points to a point of departure for the discussion about what makes cheese - cheese and what makes up the profession(s) that surround it.

The central question about whether milk in its original form, i.e.; with all its inherent chemical makeup versus milk that has had all that 'good' stuff removed and then a controlled version added back in, makes for a better end product.

I have my opinions but have had it challenged a few times, particularly with pasterised milk Époisses, which of course only proves to me that there is no finite answer. This was brought home when I read an interview with a well known fromager here in Paris - Martine Dubois, a fromagère in the 17th arrondissement who always has amazing cheeses. She is an interesting person who advocates for better understanding and dialogue within her industry. When asked her opinion about the debate about raw milk versus non, she said:

"The question isn't really there. Sorry to bring down a myth, but a raw milk camembert can be bad and a camembert from microfiltered milk can be excellent. Here we are speaking particularly about Camemberts, but all cheeses are affected yet not all make as much noise. It is a war that makes you forget the main objective: the taste of the product. Also, we cheesemongers need to be able to be supplied with a constant quality: raw milk cheeses are more difficult to maintain and the quantities do not always match the demand."

Another point of contention was whether affinage is a real profession and is it separate from being a cheesemonger? These have come under some heavy discussion of late by a lot of cheese people in the US. As to this question of affinage, which technically meaning refinement or finishing or as the master Max McCalman defines it "the art of aging cheese", Madame Dubois had another pretty pointed opinion which was echoed by Randolph Hodgson, the owner of Neal's Yard Dairy in the UK.

The question to her was - What is a fromager-affineur which means one who not only sells cheese but ages cheese. Here in France, I would have said that a fromager is not the same as an affineur. One sells cheese, but does not necessarily practice the art of affinage. They could be one in the same and those who do both would provide more advantages to the customer. According to Mme Dubois however this misses the point. She said:

"Another myth ... refining (aging), is the maturation of cheese. Today, almost no fromager (cheesemonger) ages cheese in his cellars. I have three caves, each at different temperatures and humidity levels, which are used sometimes to delay or finish aging, but cheese is much better left in its original cellar to mature where it is at home with the right humidity, the right temperature, the right environment and the suitable expertise. Moreover, and to go even further...we (fromagère) are cheese merchants, we do not make cheese, that credit goes to the producer."

I think a bit of splitting hairs is going on here. According to Mr. McCalman in his article The Art of Affinage in Cheese Connoisseur this month, affinage is the second step in cheesemaking regardless of who practices it.

"Great affineurs make memories and poor affinage destroys the promise of greatness."

A cheese not only needs to be maintained properly, but it must have started with superior milk, cheesemaking techniques and hygiene. Affinage is the process of monitoring the development of a cheese and none of those steps without the other can make a superior product. In otherwords, affinage can not make a great cheese out of a poorly made one. But assuming all that is in place, proper affinage practiced by an artist in the trade will allow; coax; nuture what was set in motion during the cheesemaking process onto the road of achieving the cheese's full potential.

So in my opinion, regardless of whether the milk was raw or pasturised, if the milk was of high quality and the cheesemaker practices his craft with the upmost attention, a cheese has the potential of being taken to its highest level of expression by a cheesemonger, fromagère or affineur who practice at least in some part, the art of affinage.

Parmigiano-Reggiano

2014-06-11T20:07:00.001+02:00

Parmigiano-Reggiano has it's very own cartoon! Found in the NYTimes Opinion Pages, this is very creative, beautifully executed...

Behind the Scenes at a Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Producer By Nicholas Blechman

Lactose Intolerance versus Milk Allergy, bis

2013-10-17T14:47:00.000+02:00

from Culture Magazine 2013

My theory on Lactose Intolerance versus a Lactose Allegy has been vindicated!

An article on the Culture Magazine website - Cheeseographic: Lactose Intolerance on October 15, 2013, by Jessie Hazard is very too the point about this ongoing issue. Lactose to lactase, aged cheeses versus fresh, cow's milk versus goat and sheep, allergy vs intolerance, yep, it's all there in graphic display!

Want more information? You can check out other articles on The Kitchen Blog - What is Lactose Intolerance and also Lactose and Cheese: Are You Really Lacotse Intolerant by Nora Singley who was a Cheesemonger and the Director of the Cheese Course at Murray's Cheese Shop in New York City and a chef on The Martha Stewart Show. All very interesting in terms of what you need to know about the two competing enemies of cheese lovers.

Also here is an interesting bit from Wikipedia on the subject :

Dairy products - Lactose is a water-soluble substance. After the curdling process, lactose is found in the water-based portion (along with whey and casein), but not in the fat-based portion. Dairy products that are "reduced-fat" or "fat-free" generally have slightly higher lactose content. Low-fat dairy foods also often have various dairy derivatives, such as milk solids, added, increasing the lactose content.

Cheese - Fermentation and higher fat content contribute to lesser amounts of lactose. Traditionally made Emmental or Cheddar might contain 10% of the lactose found in whole milk. In addition, the aging methods of traditional cheeses (sometimes over two years) reduce their lactose content to practically nothing. Commercial cheeses, however, are often manufactured by processes that do not have the same lactose-reducing properties.

Making Mozzarella

2013-10-15T15:40:00.001+02:00

Photo by Charlotte Moore

The Daily Cure blog written by Charlotte Moore has a great photo article from 15 October about how to make mozzarella. It is definately worth taking a look at!

Les Fromagers de Tradition @ la Fromagerie de la Houssaye

2013-09-29T18:16:00.000+02:00

What makes a great cheese? Contented animals, good raw milk, traditional methods of production, know how, but most important - passion!

Serge le Chevallier at Les Fromagers de Tradition, la Fromagerie de la Houssaye makes some of the most amazing cheeses from Normandy you will ever encounter. Livarot and Pont l'Eveque are the specialities of the house. All made with raw milk from their herds in the lieu-dit called la Houssaye, located in the Pays d'Auge, these are award winning cheeses.

The Livarot won the Silver medal and the Pont l'Eveque won the Gold medal at the 2013 Salon d'Agriculture in Paris. We had the privelege of meeting Monsieur le Chevallier at the Fromagerie where he was kind enough to give us a tour of his facility and explain their fabrication techniques and then let us taste his cheeses in situe.

A natural presenter, le Chevallier regaled us with the techniques of this artisanal process he and his 17 employees use for cheese making. It was truly fascinating to learn that a Livarot, round in form, and a Pont l'Eveque, square in shape, start out exactly the same and do not start to become their respective cheeses until around the salage (salting stage).

While Livarot, otherwise known as le Colonel, is big and meaty, a very masculin cheese; Pont l'Eveque is soft and milky, like milk fresh from the cow and could be described as feminine. We tasted these cheeses with a beautiful, crisp white wine, but some say a dry cidre brut would work equally well.

With their cousin, Camembert, these cheeses make up the Normand big three and typify all that is good about Normandy. For us a Domaines & Terroirs, we were truly honoured to be able to sample the very best of these cheeses with a most talented cheese maker.

Why Raw Milk?

2013-09-29T16:35:00.001+02:00

A quote at Graindorge in Normandy

Vive le Terroir

2013-09-07T20:20:00.001+02:00

A very interesting article called Vive le Terroir in the NYTimes recently by Steven Erlanger discusses the idea of French terroir as it exists today here in this wonderful country. Having just spent eight days in this very region on a Domaines & Terroirs Journey with a wonderful family eager to discover this very concept for the southern Causses, it was extremely timely.

Home of the Cathars, Templiers and some of the most beautiful villages in France, terroir in this region of ancient wine varieties and wonderful cheeses like Roquefort, Bleu de Causses, Pérail, Cabécou, Pélardon, Rocamadour, le Rouelle du Tarn from la Fromagerie du Pic and la Cardabelle from la Fromagerie de Hyelzas and safran, lamb from Quercy, chesnuts and walnuts, foie gras and all things duck, make it a region full of things to discover and terroir is everywhere. (More on the Journey in later posts!)

Cheese - the soul of the earth

2013-05-31T20:21:00.002+02:00

ter·roir

[French ter-wahr / ter' wa] noun

The conditions in which a foodstuff is grown or produced giving the food its unique characteristics.

The French Ministry of Agriculture definition : a combination of land specificity and human savoir-faire.

Origin: French: literally, 'soil, land', from Medieval Latin terratorium

In France, this mythical word represents simply the land. And yet, it is more than the soil and climate or geological and hydrological conditions. It is the quintessence of agriculture, the combination of geography, people and culture. While the meaning has been greatly debated across the wine world as to whether it is a real factor or not, in the art of cheese, it is self-evident. This is not an elitist concept; rather it is a respect for the locality, the history and the people who create the product.

With cheese in France, as with many other artisanal products here, these elements of tradition can be traced to when people were isolated from one another and other communities. With their particular climate, the vegetal species, the race of their animals and the chemical structure of their milk and personal interaction, individuals in small communities began to produce products particular to their region; each exhibiting differences in taste, in texture and in shape.

Terroir represents locality, continuity and consistency which we find in region specific cheeses. Each of them provides us with a vision of the cultural diversity of their area as well as the shared habits of the local people and their interaction with the surrounding environment. We come to realize that "terroir is all about human intervention."

Interactive map

To codify this combination of the basic identity, the knowledge it represents and to help preserve the regional specificity of a group of categories of foods, produce, wine and cheese, the French developed a system known as l’Appelation d’Origine Controllée (AOC). The process is in-depth and exacting. It documents the essence of the cheese: its historical framework, the its agricultural dictates such as breed of animal, location, vegetation and all the processes used to create the cheese.

The process attempts to define, if not the soul of a cheese, its roots. The first AOC cheese to be protected by this status was Roquefort in 1925. Currently 46 cheeses have l’Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée designation in France; 29 cow, 14 goat and 3 sheep milk cheeses. There hundreds more French cheeses which display unique regionality and typicity. There are some fun websites that let you view the regions and their associated AOC cheeses, which you click on a region and the AOC cheeses will come up.

The European Union has used it as the basis of an EU wide programme – l’Appellation d'Origine Protégée (AOP) which is of similar scope and more stringent in some of its requirements.

Our fascination with this intervention, this interaction, this portal into the soul of the earth is what we here at Domaines & Terroirs seek to discover through journeys into the countryside.

Heavenly Époisses !

2013-04-26T22:54:00.000+02:00

Mousse tiède d’époisses au pain d’épices et sa tartine

Is it possible to improve on something that is already perfect? As most cheeseheads know, Époisses as a cheese is, well perfect. And in my humble opinion, it is the best, the one, the king of cheese. Onctuous, flavourful, full of umami and yes smelly. This weekend we were in Bourgogne (Burgundy) to research this area of beautiful scenery, fabulous wine, amazing food and yes cheese! Some of France's most beautiful châteux, the best wines and starred restaurants can be found in this region, just a couple hours south of Paris. Also Burgundian cheeses (in French) are some of the best French cheeses...Époisses, l'Ami du Chambertin, Brillat-savarin, Chaource, Charolais, Clacbitou, Langres, Soumaintrain and many many more.

One of the things one does when one goes to research a place is sample all of the wonderful products that come forth from its amazingly rich terroir and Bourgogne does not disappoint. So after doing some damage to the pocketbook at Le Château Pommard, off we went to lunch in this tiny little village at what would turn out to be the best find of the trip, the restaurant Auprès du Clocher, where chef Jean-Christophe Moutet practices his magic. And ô! what magical things come out of that kitchen.

The entrée was l'Oeuf à la neige en meurette d'escargots de Bourgogne (a poached egg in an egg white soufflé sitting in a pool of a red wine and shallot reduction and Burgundian escargots), followed by the main - Joue de boeuf confite au vin rouge en Parmentier (a red wine confit of beef cheek under a cloud of potatoe purée) and the finale was a thing of intense beauty: Mousse tiède d'époisses au pain d’épices et sa tartine (a warm mousse of époisses with a gingerbread base accomanied by its very own slab of perfect époisses on toast)!

Each one of these dishes was more intense than the one before it, and yet for a cheesehead, the dessert was kind of like heavan on earth. The mousse was a warm, feather light cream, like a sabayon, of époisses with crunchy pieces of toasted pain d'épices at the bottom, in to which you dunked a toasted slice of pain de campagne topped with slabs of absolutely perfect époisses...as I said more perfect than perfect. Époisses is pretty big as a cheese but somehow each bit of this combination was an A Ha! moment. All the beautiful, round flavours of this meaty cheese were on display, smoothed by the cream and punctuated by the sweet, toasted gingerbread. Félicitation au chef! c'était un merveille!

If you are ever in the region, make sure you head straight to Pommard to visit this most charming chef. By then, he will certainly have stars attached to his name !

Auprès du Clocher

Auprès du Clocher
1 rue de Nackenheim
21630 POMMARD

Tél: +33 (0)3 80 22 21 79

l'Oeuf à la neige en meurette

Joue de boeuf confite en Parmentier

The New Art of Cheese Writing

2013-01-25T18:41:00.000+01:00

'Galets de Cher It’s like getting the high of a Bikram Yoga class without the heat, the postures and the drill sergeant instructor.'

Now that's what I call a description! Apparently in the US, and in particular in NY, cheesemongers create little odes to each of their cheese to help tantalize customers into trying a cheese. So a bit of creative writing added to great personalities with lots of knowledge about this most wonderful product and wow, how cool is that? I can imagine this happening in the UK but never in France! This is too bad as it really seems like a natural part of the process of marrying nature, terroir, skill and personality.

Take a look at this article In the Dairy Case, Ripe Prose, by Jeff Gordinier, in the NYTimes January 22, 2013 and read all about it.

Cheese, Fat and Sodium

2012-08-13T18:42:00.001+02:00

An interesting article in the NYTimes, Ask to Get Slim, Cheese Resists, by Harry Fountain - The U.S. Cheese Industry Works to Reduce Sodium and Fat. All about how America is trying to make cheese with less fat and less salt and still have something that approximates cheese. Not certain there is a point to this since cheese derived its character from the milk fat and salt acts as a preservative and flavour enhancer.

le Salon International de l'Agriculture 2012

2012-03-12T17:12:00.000+01:00

Unbelievable, enormous and incredible! This exposition, le Salon International de l'Agriculture, is always something to see. The animals, the products and the people are a tour de force. The French are incredibly proud of their agricultural heritage and their attachment to the land. This is the place to see it in full swing, 360 animal races, 2300 animals and 4000 products artisanal and industrial to discover and taste, you could spend days out at the Porte de Versailles trying to take it all in.

In addition, the milk industry holds a Salon for cheese and milk product professionals. It is a real "Who's who" for the cheese industry. Small producer, collectives, industrial producers are there to show off their wares and convince new clients to give them a try.

We went and met some of them such as the two women from the Cévennes whose cooperative, La Fromagerie des Cévennes, regroups the goat milk of 22 producers from le Gard, la Lozére and les Cévennes to produce favourites like le Pélardon AOP; Moissac des Cévennes and le Seillou. They have introduced rediscovered or new cheeses such as the tomme la Parpaillote or le Réboussier. You can visit their farm and meet them in person.

Or another group, Etoile du Quercy, which is part of the company les Fromagerie de l'Etoile, who introduced two interesting cheeses - le Compostelle and le Rocamadour Grand Cru. Each are 100% raw goat milk from the region of Quercy in the south west and really wonderful, creamy examples of the goat cheeses from this region. The Compostelle is a cross between a Rocamadour and a traditional Cabécou. It is a little bit bigger and thicker with a firmer pate. What makes the Rocamadour Grand Cru special is the traditional cheese comes in it's very own little wooden box just like a Camembert, which makes it perfect for cheeseboards.

Monsieur Jean-Yves Bordier, the famous fromager turned Maître de Beurre, was there showing off his skills. He produces le Beurre Bordier, a beurre de baratte which uses several time consuming techniques, barattage and malaxer to form the butter. When the raw butter is at a specific temperature and texture, it is beaten with two small wooden paddles and shaped either into unique little forms or huge 5 kilo portions for la crème de la crème restaurants. Besides doux, demi-sel ou salé, some of his unique butters are smoked, with Algae or Piment d'Espelette.

This expo is so amazing that you really can spend days going from building to building, looking at cows, watching goat be born, chicks hatched, the competitions, sampling all the delicacies from the various regions and just absorbing the culture. I always invite people to go with me just to see their reaction to this spectacle of the countryside. It is really something not to miss and now we are seeing other countries start to participate, which means it will only be bigger next year.