With over 500 French cheeses available in a delicious range of flavours - from the very mild to the quite powerful - there's an almost endless variety to choose from.
French cheese is a traditional food that's ideally suited to a busy lifestyle. Perfect for creating super-quick healthy snacks or delicious treats, French cheeses are high in nutrients and big on flavour. Use them in a pasta sauce, sandwich, tossed in a salad or as a topping on a vegetable bake. Or, enjoy them on their own as a meal in their own right.
Great for parties, spread French cheese on crackers and biscuits for canapés, or on a cheeseboard served with lots of crusty french bread.
And, they're not as fattening as you might think.
Fat content, indicated on the cheese label, is calculated in relation to the cheese's dry matter (cheese contains water that contibutes to its weight), not in relation to the weight of the cheese. A 100g slice of French brie contains only 30% fat as a percentage of the whole cheese compared with 40% for the same weight of cheddar. In other words, soft cheeses contain more water so are less fattening. Furthermore, a range of light but equally delicious cheeses is widely available, bringing you all the taste, with fewer calories.
French cheeses may be the ultimate quick food and the key ingredient to transform your quick recipe into a feast, but they take time and care to make. Although modern technology is used throughout France to produce cheese, French cheese makers have retained their skills and craft.
Roquefort, from the south of France, is characterised by its very white body pierced by blue-green mould veins. It looks and seems crumbly but is exceptionally smooth and rich on the palate.
Excellent by itself, it is preferred by many when accompanied by butter and can be crumbled to add savoury tang into sauces, onto baked potatoes – even into salad dressings.
A similar cheese to Roquefort existed in Roman times, and was mentioned by Plinius in the year 79 . In 1411, Karl VI allowed the inhabitants of Roquefort to have the monopoly for ripening this cheese in their caves. Even today, this cheese can only be ripened in the natural stone caves of the Mont Combalou in the community of Roquefort-sur-Sulzon.
In 1925 Roquefort was one of the first French cheeses to receive the AOC seal. No wonder the French call it the King of Cheeses.
diameter of 28cm. Their taste is aromatic with mushroom and hazelnut overtones.
Brie is a mild, creamy representative of the Brie family. It can be found in supermarkets in a 200 gram triangular piece of loaf or as a Petit Brie - a small whole Brie of 500 grams in a wooden box.
Brie has a slight bitter taste that if left to unfold, develops into a completely soft, hazelnut and fruit flavour.
Coeur de Lion Camembert is a traditional camembert made in the heart of Normandy. With a soft and creamy texture, a slight core gradually reducing as the cheese matures and a
distinctive camembert flavour, this delicious classic cheese
offers all the characteristics of a well crafted Normandy camembert. A delight for the cheeseboard, try it also as a
flavourful addition to your recipes.
Emmental Français has been produced since at least the 13th century in the region Rhône-Alpes (Savoie and Haute-Savoie). It is a hard cheese made from cow's milk, cooked and pressed. There are many holes (also called eyes) inside it. A good Emmental must have at least 3 holes every 6 inches.
Its taste is fruity with a subtle nutty core and its aroma is very delicate. Some representatives of this cheese are produced from raw milk, and like numerous great wines have the labeling "Grand Cru".
Can I also eat the rind? This is the question many people ask about French cheese. The answer is both yes and no, as it depends on the cheese variety and personal preferences. Goat cheeses such as the Selles-sur-Cher can be enjoyed either way, depending on taste preference. However, people from the Loire eat the rind as it gives the cheese a special touch.
The grayish colour of the rind is from plant coal. It controls the humidity on the surface of the cheese and protects the cheese from drying out. Furthermore the plant coal provides a good base for the growth of mould.
