Gather with friends and family to celebrate the abundant variety of cheeses produced in France. This Fromage plate is an elegant addition to your traditional Holiday fare.
Max’s recommended tasting order: Cabichou du Poitou, Abbaye de Belloc, Camembert, Beaufort, Bleu d’Auvergne.
The Cheeses
“These five very different cheese types offer a cross section from the different regions of France.” Max McCalman, Maître Fromager
Chabichou du Poitou (AOC). Produced in the heart of the goat cheese region of Poitou, Chabichou du Poitou traces its roots back to the 8th century. With a sweet and delicate, slightly salty flavor, and a firm, very white, smooth pâte. Its flavor strengthens with aging.
If you can’t find it, ask for: Crottin de Chavignol.
Beaufort (AOC). Famous since Roman times, Beaufort is one of the noble cheeses of the French Alps. Made from the milk of an ancient mountain breed of mahogany-colored cows, Beaufort is distinguished by its concave-shaped rind. It has a dense, concentrated, buttery consistency, a fruity aroma and rich, nutty flavors with a hint of sweetness.
If you can’t find it, ask for: Comté.
“This is a show-stopping cheese! As legend has it, Beaufort was created with its concave rinds so that it would fit safely at the sides of a donkey as it traveled over the mountain passes. This cheese kept well over the winter months, providing good nutrition during times of scarcity.”
Max McCalman, Maître de Fromage
Bleu d’Auvergne (AOC). A delicious blue cheese from the Auvergne region of south-central France, Bleu d’Auvergne has a full and pungent taste, but it is not as strong as many other blue cheeses; it is less salty, with a creamier and more buttery taste with a moist texture.
If you can’t find it, ask for: Fourme d’Ambert.
Ossau-Iraty style. Farmhouse-made and ripened in a Benedictine abbey in the Basque region of southwestern France. The recipe for this sheep’s milk cheese is 3,000 years old! It is semi-hard with a fairly dense, concentrated consistency and delicious sweet, fruit, nutty flavors.
If you can’t find it, ask for: another Ossau-Iraty style cheese from Basque county.
Camembert. Camembert is a world-renowned cow’s milk cheese from the Normandy region in northern France. This quintessential French cheese has a soft, white, bloomy rind; luxurious ivory pâte; and a buttery, grassy flavor. The taste of a ripe Camembert is reminiscent of wild mushrooms.
If you can’t find it, ask for: Pavé d’Auge or Pont-l’Evêque.
All soft-ripened cheeses used in our Signature Fromage Plates are made from pasteurized milk, and therefore comply with FDA regulations.