The Cheese Board

[french frank]

"Auvergne you had enough of zis French cheese"

Pas possible :-)

[french frank]

Not quite sure whether we have a suitable thread but:

I was lent Dominique Bouchait's Fromages and was interested to see that in 2010 the French 'gastronomic meal' was recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity:

"The gastronomic meal should respect a fixed structure, commencing with an apéritif (drinks before the meal) and ending with liqueurs, containing in between at least four successive courses, namely a starter, fish and/or meat with vegetables, cheese and dessert."

[Old Grumpy]

Sounds good to me...

...what time is it served?

P.S. true to stereotype we're having rosbif tonight. Will be having some of this too! Followed by cheese, of course.

[Roger Webb]

I was waiting for you to come up with an 18th c. quote, monsieur. I'm disappointed it ain't French though. The wisdom is generally that the parts of the vegetable or fruit that get the most sun are richest in nutrients. Not having a compost bin, I eat any parts that are, in a physical sense - eatable.

Raining, I got soaked, the deli had no saucisson whatsoever and the only French cheese was a piece of Brie de Meaux. Added to that, the only wine of the kind I sought was also a Jurançon like the Coop's, but costing more than twice the amount (and I'd thought £7.25 for a ½ bottle was a good price to pay). Still, it looks as if it might do well with the Roquefort, even if only 13% abv. And the bread has turned out well and has had time to cool. Always look on the bright side of life

The Brie de Meaux is a charming cheese, but I think the Jurançon is better suited to the ewe's milk richness of the Rochefort, although, as discussed, not as well as a more substantial 'sticky'.
I Think the perfect accompaniment to 'northern' cows milk creamy cheeses: Brie, Camembert, Pont l'Eveque, Neufchatel (although Valentine's day is passed!) require a dryish Loire wine or a Muscadet Sévre et Maine Sur Lie, or, hard to find here, Gros Plant - long considered beyond the pale, but making a comeback.

[vinteuil]

I Think the perfect accompaniment to 'northern' cows milk creamy cheeses: Brie, Camembert, Pont l'Eveque, Neufchatel (although Valentine's day is passed!) require a dryish Loire wine or a Muscadet Sévre et Maine Sur Lie, or, hard to find here, Gros Plant - long considered beyond the pale, but making a comeback.

... interesting. Like you I often advocate white wines for cheese.

Here my notes wd suggest :
brie de meaux - red :st nicolas de bourgeuil, givry, st julien, vosne-romanee (!), saumur, moulin a vent
camembert - white : gewurztraminer, riesling, arbois savagnin ; red : chinon, st nicolas de bourgueil, bourgeuil, touraine ; cidre (pays d'auge)
pont l' eveque - red : st emilion, saumur, morgon, cote de brouilly ; cidre
neufchatel - red : pomerol, st emilion, cotes du rhone, beaujolais, st nicolas de bourgueil, saumur, anjou ; white : pouilly fume, coteaux champenois ; cidre

[Roger Webb]

... interesting. Like you I often advocate white wines for cheese.

Here my notes wd suggest :
brie de meaux - red :st nicolas de bourgeuil, givry, st julien, vosne-romanee (!), saumur, moulin a vent
camembert - white : gewurztraminer, riesling, arbois savagnin ; red : chinon, st nicolas de bourgueil, bourgeuil, touraine ; cidre (pays d'auge)
pont l' eveque - red : st emilion, saumur, morgon, cote de brouilly ; cidre
neufchatel - red : pomerol, st emilion, cotes du rhone, beaujolais, st nicolas de bourgueil, saumur, anjou ; white : pouilly fume, coteaux champenois ; cidre

Yes, for these cheeses you mention several Beaujolais (perhaps slightly chilled) and I concur - I did say Loire wines too but not the Saumur red! or Bourgeuil much as I love those. But St Julien?!!
For me Cab Sauv is a big no-no, they are far too tanic for creamy cheeses surely. Neither would I choose Merlot based St Emilion or Pomerol for soft cheeses!
At least Camembert gets the nod for whites... and cider, which I'll happily drink in Normandy....in fact I'm cooking moules in cider tonight....to be eaten with Muscadet though!

[french frank]

One thing I've wondered about recently: deep fried camembert. When did people start doing this? I suppose there are industrial camemberts that you could fry or bake. But it would seem sacrilege to do it to a decent cheese.

[Roger Webb]

One thing I've wondered about recently: deep fried camembert. When did people start doing this? I suppose there are industrial camemberts that you could fry or bake. But it would seem sacrilege to do it to a decent cheese.

Yes, it is a foul practice and results in a smell in the dining room of burnt rubber, and the resulting....well, what? Something akin to Evostick is indegestable. Surely one wouldn't do it to an 'au lait cru', perhaps to a 'Président'.....(the make of industrially produced cheese...not the 'big cheese' in Paris!).

[oddoneout]

One thing I've wondered about recently: deep fried camembert. When did people start doing this? I suppose there are industrial camemberts that you could fry or bake. But it would seem sacrilege to do it to a decent cheese.

A bit of idle searching for 'when' came up with this. Australian dinner parties - who knew, as they say?

http://esurientes.blogspot.com/2005/08/imbb-were-living-in-seventies.html

[oliver sudden]

For a time in Oz it wasn’t legal to sell raw milk products, after a couple of food poisoning fatalities. (There was reportedly a very mournful Roquefort sacrifice somewhere or other. Things have since relaxed.) During that period I brought my French then-girlfriend out for a visit and foolishly took her one day to visit a cheese shop. She greeted everything she tried with ‘nice yoghurt’…

All that just to say that there is a fair bit of Aussie ‘Camembert’ (and, as others have noted, also of French Camembert-in-name-only) which would be well suited to such a fate.

[french frank]

A bit of idle searching for 'when' came up with this. Australian dinner parties - who knew, as they say?

And more idle searching suggests there are people who eat an entire one . I think I've seen something called a 'baking camembert'. I don't object as long as I don't have to eat it or witness anyone else doing so. A cheese board is an art form.

[Roger Webb]

And more idle searching suggests there are people who eat an entire one . I think I've seen something called a 'baking camembert'. .

Yes, similarly I once saw something called 'baking beetroots'....and left them on the shelf, silly me!

[oddoneout]

And more idle searching suggests there are people who eat an entire one . I think I've seen something called a 'baking camembert'. I don't object as long as I don't have to eat it or witness anyone else doing so. A cheese board is an art form.

Baking camembert make more sense - a variation on raclette? Less faff and mess(and grease) than frying, and the wooden box is eminently recyclable/biodegradable.

[oliver sudden]

Baking camembert make more sense - a variation on raclette? Less faff and mess(and grease) than frying, and the wooden box is eminently recyclable/biodegradable.

I don’t think I’m going to be doing that if I can get hold of Mont d’or though…

[Pulcinella]

And more idle searching suggests there are people who eat an entire one . I think I've seen something called a 'baking camembert'. I don't object as long as I don't have to eat it or witness anyone else doing so. A cheese board is an art form.

I think it can be a sort of sharing platter, too.