The cheese inside is soft and hard on top. French cheeses: description of varieties, features of production. Species and varieties

Mold fungi are ubiquitous. Basically, extensive colonies grow in warm, humid places, in nutrient media.

Cheeses with noble beneficial mold

Blue cheese is a real storehouse of vitamins, minerals and highly digestible proteins rich in essential amino acids. There is practically no lactose in cheeses, while all the beneficial substances of milk are preserved. Blue cheese is a high-calorie, high-fat product.

The principle of classifying moldy cheeses is simple: according to the color of the mold.

covered with a gray velvety shell of noble mold. The cheese mass is fluid, creamy in color, like processed cheese. Famous representatives of this family are French brie and camembert cheeses. In our country, few people can tell them apart by taste and appearance, and in France this is considered a sign of ignorance.

Brie cheese is called the king of cheeses and the cheese of kings.. It is with brie that it is usually advised to start acquaintance with mold cheeses.

Cheeses with a white rind (brie, camembert) go well with figs and ripe pears. Suitable: quince, grapes, peaches, cherries, raisins, almonds and walnuts, smoked meats and ripe tomatoes with fresh homemade bread and fragrant herbs - from dill to basil.

Unlike white cheeses, these cheeses do not have a moldy crust on their surface. Their feature is a marble pattern inside of the cheese itself, formed by a noble green-blue mold. It is she who gives the product a spicy aroma and a sharp, rich, incomparable taste.

Roquefort is the classic and most famous blue cheese. An alternative to expensive Roquefort are cow's milk cheeses: French bleu d'Auvergne, German bergader and dorblu, Italian gorgonzola, English Stilton, Danablu from Denmark.

The taste of blue cheeses is in harmony with ripe grapes. Also great are fruits (pears, peaches and figs), fresh bread, custard, crackers, honey, a great combination with celery, with apple slices and dark chocolate.

Dor Blue. Semi-hard cheese with noble blue mold inside. The color of the cheese dough is white to slightly yellowish.

The next family of mold cheeses is. These are cheeses topped with a layer of red or orange mold. This color is obtained by washing the heads of cheese with a special brine. This is a very fragrant group of cheeses with a pungent smell and piquant taste. The cheese is soft, with a golden hue. Here is the German Münster (oh, it smells very strong!), the most delicate French Montagnard, Limburg.

There are also Austrian Trauten Felzer and German Cambozola.

Quality and freshness of blue cheeses

There are several signs that will help you understand whether blue cheese has gone bad or not.

Cheeses with white mold:

• A good cheese with a white rind has a light, barely perceptible "mushroom" smell of penicillin. A sharp ammonia spirit is a sign of a stale product.
• This cheese should not be bitter, only a slight bitterness is allowed.
• If a dry crust is present on the surface, and the white color has begun to acquire a reddish tint, then the product has not been stored correctly or for too long.
• The cheese mass should be homogeneous, tender, slightly oily.
• An indicator of low-quality cheese with white mold is the presence of voids.

Cheeses with blue mold:

• A good blue cheese has a tender, slightly moist and friable mass, while it should not crumble.
• If moldy cavities occupy most of the cheese, then the cheese is not the first freshness.

It is recommended to store moldy cheeses at a temperature of 4 to 6 C in individual packaging (in food foil or wax paper). This is necessary so that the pulp of the cheese does not dry out and does not lose its cheesy spirit, and mold spores do not spread to other products.

How to use

Cheese should end the meal, not start it. In France, the birthplace of blue cheeses, they are eaten before and after dinner or instead of dessert. An assortment of at least 3-5 varieties of good cheese is formed, and they differ not only in taste, but also in shape. Cheeses are tasted, starting with soft tender varieties and ending with hard ones with a more piquant taste.

noble mold

In Russia, this fungus is called gray rot, in fact, microbiologists gave it the name Botrytis cinerea (first it kills the body itself, and then feeds on the dead tissues). A lot of products (berries, fruits) become unusable because of this fungus. But in Germany, France and Hungary, thanks to this type of fungus, they get it. Therefore, it becomes clear why in these countries this mold is called "noble".

blue mold

If the noble mold was studied not so long ago, then the blue mold has been known since very ancient times. This species is an indispensable component of marble cheeses (Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton).

white mold

This type of mold (Pinicillium camamberti and caseicolum) is also added to the cheese during the preparation process to add a unique flavor note.

With the participation of white mold, such famous cheeses as Camembert and Brie are born.

Remember that only high-quality blue cheese is really good for the body, as it contains many trace elements. But even such a product of the highest quality is not recommended for pregnant women and children.

Doctors advise to refrain from eating moldy cheese from unpasteurized milk, pregnant women and young children (due to the risk of developing an infectious disease extremely dangerous for the fetus - listeriosis). In some European countries, this prescription is printed on the packaging of blue cheeses.

ORDER ASSORTED CHEESE

The love for cheese transcends all boundaries. Otherwise, why is there such a huge amount of this fragrant product in the world? Delicious cheese is considered the best appetizer with a glass of wine and a key ingredient in most European dishes.

Its largest supplier in Europe is Germany. It is this country that leads in terms of cheese production, surpassing even Italy and France. And it is not surprising, because Germany also has a centuries-old tradition of cheese making, like the countries listed.

There are many types of cheese in Germany. According to some reports, their number exceeds six hundred. They are divided into two large groups depending on the content of fat and moisture. These include all kinds of hard, semi-hard and soft cheeses, sliced, sour-milk, young and processed varieties.

Features of German cheeses

Cheeses in Germany are produced not only in factories. Most varieties are produced in private cheese factories, which are usually located in the ecological regions of the country. This location directly affects the quality of products. Cheese is made from cow or goat milk. To spice up the cheese, the Germans add special ingredients to it:

• herbs;
• garlic;
• allspice;
• white and blue mold.

Also in the assortment of German cheeses there is a special category of cheese with a specific smell. Such varieties are held in high esteem by gourmets, but for most people they smell unpleasant. Therefore, on the packaging of such cheeses, you can find the aromatisch mark.

Tilsiter and Emmental

Such cheeses belong to different types, but they combine well with each other. Tilsiter comes from the small village of Tilsit. Nowadays, this area belongs to the Kaliningrad region and is called the city of Sovetsk. According to some reports, this type of cheese has Dutch roots. Tilsiter refers to sliced ​​cheeses. It contains a large amount of whey. In consistency and appearance, it resembles Gouda and Edamer.

The taste of Tilsiter can be both spicy and soft milky. It depends on the characteristics of the production technology and the area in which the cheese is made. According to the rules of the Russian language, the name of the cheese is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, but the Germans insist on highlighting the first syllable.

Emmental belongs to the Alpine cheeses, because it is made from unpasteurized milk of Alpine cows. The cheese matures for more than 120 days, and with strict observance of the production process, the cheese head retains its taste for 150 years. Among all cheeses produced in Germany, Emmental is a time-tested classic. This type of cheese is characterized by the presence of large holes, as well as a fruity-nutty taste.

Delicious german cheeses

Bergkäse is a specialty cheese that is not sold in a regular supermarket. It is made in mountainous areas, so you can only find it at village fairs. It is noteworthy that the cheese does not contain lactose, but it is rich in calcium and Omega-3 fatty acids. It has a spicy nutty flavor. And the older the cheese, the tastier and spicier it is.

Bavaria Blue cheese has a special texture. It is made from pasteurized milk with the addition of heavy cream. Therefore, this type of cheese has a creamy sour taste, with a slight bitterness of blue mold.

Cambozola cheese has absorbed the best traditions of French and Italian varieties of this product. It is distinguished by a rich, creamy taste, blue mold on the inside, and a crust of white mold on the outside. The Germans managed to create such an unusual cheese only after numerous experiments.

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To eat or not blue cheese

The popularity of cheese has no limits: only a lazy housewife does not add this ingredient to salads, casseroles, and just to the composition of a sandwich. But not only cheese is a true culinary masterpiece, eating cheese and staying healthy is also a kind of art. The familiar mold on cheese makes you wonder what kind of cheese mold you can eat, and which one you should urgently get rid of, also after wrapping the spoiled product in several layers of paper.

Blue cheese is delicious. On the shelves of supermarkets, it is easy to find moldy-looking cheese, with an unattractive appearance, but a high price. These are the so-called aristocratic varieties of cheeses, for the creation of which the noble mold penicillium is used. When meeting an elite variety on a laid table at a party or in a restaurant, you should not be tormented by the question: is it possible to eat this kind of delicacy. It is not only possible, but also necessary to eat, since such cheese varieties contain a lot of trace elements necessary for the human immune system.

Elite varieties with mold:

• White cheeses - the French varieties of Camembert and Brie - are famous for their internal delicate texture, reminiscent of condensed milk. A whitish mold is present only on the surface of the cheese, which is quite edible and very pleasant to the taste.
• Red varieties - German Munster and French Montagnard - are covered with edible red mold and differ from other varieties in a strongly odorous, for an amateur, aroma.
• Blue cheeses are created from a blue mold that permeates the cheese in all internal directions. This group includes French Roquefort, German Dor Blue and Bergader, English Stintol.
• Combined varieties with a combination of different shades. The group of “mixed” cheese includes French Brice Blue and Coeur de Lyon, as well as Italian Gorgonzola, popular in Russia.

There are also black cheeses that are rare for the Russian consumer. But these varieties already require preliminary preparation: vigorous black mold, before eating cheese, should be cut off. However, the aristocratic Brie may also require additional pruning if alien mold from illiterate storage is added to its “native” mold.

Her Majesty Mold

Mold is a whole collection of microscopic fungi, the varieties of which bacteriology has more than 300,000 species. Most of the mushrooms are poisonous, and, as proven by scientists, the poison is not excreted, but accumulates in the human body in order to deal a crushing blow to its organs. It is especially easy for mold to develop its structure in soft cheeses, choosing both expensive varieties, such as Brie and Munsten, as well as more budget options as a sacrifice.

Mold Structure:

1. Root - mycelium is a mycelium, the roots of which are able to penetrate deep into the cheese pulp.
2. Hypha stalks - sporangiophores originate from the mycelium, pass filamentously through the pulp and cover the walls of the product.
3. Sporangia - heads with numerous spores, visually represent a fur fluff on the surface of the cheese.

Unfortunately, not always, when cutting the cheese, you can see the roots of the mycelium, namely around them there can be poisonous toxic waste products of the mold - mycotoxins. Microscopic fungi can affect the skin, intestines, liver and lungs of a person.

If the cheese has become moldy for a long time, and the fungi have managed to infect the product with mitotoxins, then this is already dangerous for health.

Mold diseases:

• food poisoning;
• diseases of the respiratory system, bronchitis, bronchial asthma;
• aspergillosis - damage to the lungs with intense hemoptysis;
• cirrhosis and liver cancer (caused by multiple accumulation of mitotoxins);
• allergic reactions.

An allergy to blue cheese is manifested by a severe fever, cough with sputum, and even asthma attacks. According to statistics, 70% of allergy sufferers and asthmatics surveyed consider the presence of mold on cheese products to be completely harmless. However, most people also mistakenly think that all spoiled cheese can be reanimated by cutting off the crust infected with mold from its surface, and using the rest for food. This is not entirely true, and the solution to the dilemma "throw away or cut" depends directly on the variety.

What to do if the cheese is moldy

Type of cheese	If the cheese is moldy, what to do
Elite blue cheese (covered with a new coating) Camembert, Brie, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Roquefort	From the walls of hard cheeses such as Gorgonzola and Stilton, a layer of at least 2 cm should be cut off. Soft cheeses such as Camembert, Munster and Brie should be destroyed.
Regular hard cheeses (Parmesan, Cheddar, etc.)	You can cut around the entire surface of the cheese, deepening by 2-3 cm.
Cheeses of soft varieties, as well as cheese slices, feta cheese, curd bars	Definitely - throw it away, because due to the high humidity of soft varieties, fungi flood the product in a matter of minutes. When throwing away, you need to put spoiled cheese in a bag so that its spores cannot become poison to others.

• Do not panic if you did not save the cheese from the fungus and ate a spoiled cheese piece. A single case of great harm will not bring, for the above ailments, you need to eat more cheese. And yet, be careful, and when you find gray or green “flowers” ​​on the surface of the cheese, think a hundred times: is this “fluffy” delicacy worth your health. zero.
• The best place for cheese in the refrigerator is the bottom tier, away from the freezer.
• Sealed packaging should be made of foil, parchment paper and cling film. In the absence of the latter, it is enough to put cheese and 2 pieces of refined sugar in one bag, sugar can prevent the development of the fungus.

Cheeses with blue mold

B		Beulet- French blue cheese (with mold) from cow's milk, with a sharp salty taste.
		Bleu des causses- French cheese (with mold) from cow's milk from various breeds. It is often referred to as ‘roquefort cow’s milk’.
		Blue (Bleu)- French ‘blue cheese’ (with mold) made from cow’s milk from various breeds. The most expensive variety in the UK.
AT		Valmont- French blue cheese (with mold) from cow's milk, with a sharp salty taste.
G		Gorgonzola (Gorgonzola)- Italian blue cheese (with mold) from cow's milk. It can be of two types: natural (or mountain) and sweet. Mountain cheese has a very strong aroma and a sharp, deep taste.
To		Cambozola (Cambozola)- Italian soft gourmet cheese with white and blue mold.
		Quibille- Swedish blue (with mold) cheese.
M		Montagnolo (Montagnolo)- Italian soft gourmet cheese with noble blue mold.
O		Osterkron (Osterkron)- Austrian blue cheese (with mold).
R		Roquefort- blue cheese made from sheep's milk, soft, contains blue-green bread mold, giving the cheese a sharp and slightly peppery taste that stimulates the appetite. For cutting it, they came up with a special machine with wire instead of a knife, so that when cutting it, the precious mold would not be crushed.
With		Saint Agur- Blue cheese, similar in taste to Roquefort.
		Stilton- English blue cheese (with mold) from cow's milk, has a dry and rough cream-colored ring and had numerous blue veins.
T		Trautenfelzer- Austrian blue cheese with two types of mold - blue inside and white outside.
F		Froome d'Amber(Fourme d'Ambert)- French cheese made from cow's milk interspersed with mold. It is covered with a thin dry crust of gray or reddish color.

French cheeses are the real pride of the country. There are more than 400 species, and each of them is special in its own way. It is striking not only their number, but also the variety of forms. Each type has its own history, in which you can trace all the smallest details of the preparation of a masterpiece.

Classification

Cheese makers classify the product in their own way depending on the technology of its manufacture:

Soft with white bloom;
- fresh;
- pressed (not boiled);
- blue (with mold);
- soft without plaque;
- boiled-pressed;
- melted.

It should be noted that this or that recipe of the resulting product contains goat, cow or sheep milk. In addition to all this, production can be concentrated on private farms or in specialized factories.

Forms

Most often, French cheeses look like a variety of geometric shapes. They are presented in the form of a disk, a circle, a drum, a square, a rectangle, a cone, a cylinder, and even a heart. The variety of forms is designed to ensure the most uniform maturation of the product, and this is also due to the traditions and history of cooking. For example, at the time of laying the mass, the peasants used triangular and rectangular containers, after which it became a regular practice. Camembert and brie almost always look like discs. For goat cheeses, cones were often used, since in this case it is possible to completely preserve the integrity of the product with its soft and delicate internal texture. Hard varieties are represented by large round heads resembling a drum, since in this form they are more convenient to stack in cellars. But in our time, many masters are beginning to experiment with the form, which subsequently leads to a change in taste and the production of new varieties.

Cooking

In order to create the best French cheeses, mesophilic starter cultures and natural rennet obtained from the stomachs of calves are used. In the modern world, the last ingredient is often replaced with chymosin, a component produced from special mushrooms. Products in which it is used are very popular with vegetarians, as they are not of animal origin.

For cheeses that use noble mold, the curd mass is not pressed at the time of production. It takes shape well under its own weight, a process experts call self-pressing. After that, by spraying, spores are introduced into it (if they were not added at the time of fermentation), then the mass is salted, and spices are introduced into it. And then everything is transported for maturation to specially prepared cellars, where, after the development and completion of the process, a unique consistency with special taste qualities is obtained.

Semi-solid

Oily and smooth structure, pliability when cutting - these are the main distinguishing characteristics of such species. In addition, they are lighter than other French cheeses, which invariably makes them very attractive for cooking. This product becomes indispensable for fruit, snacks, red wines and various desserts. For transportation, they are covered with an inedible film, which maintains integrity and helps during transportation.

1. Babybeh - only cow's milk is needed for production. It has a firm texture and a spicy taste.
2. Chiberta - made in the south of France. It has a delicate ivory color and a large number of small holes.
3. Livarot (Livarot) - this product comes from the province of Normandy, is made with round outlines and a rich spicy flavor.
4. Edam Francais - bright yellow, slightly spicy, medium hard.
5. Munster - grown in Alsace, has a strong smell and mild taste. Cheese makers sometimes season it with cumin.
6. Pont l'Eveque - originally from Normandy, translated from French means "bishop's bridge."
7. Port Salut - this species is most often recommended for heat treatment.
8. Royaldieue - one of the fattest varieties.
9.St. Nectaire - very similar to Port Salut, the difference is that it is softer in taste.

French goat cheese

This category is highly valued among gourmets around the world. Almost every province easily introduces its own unique product. They differ in both shape and size. As for the structure and taste, here you can boast the greatest variety.

1. Chevres - is quite famous in this group. It harmonizes well with bread, desserts and fruits, it is especially recommended to serve it with wine.
2. Banon (Banon) - has a rounded appearance, as a rule, is wrapped in chestnut leaves and tied with fibers from the Raffia palm.
3. Capricette - the product of the lowest fat content with a delicate taste.
4. Chabichou - a small, soft French cheese. Ideal for desserts. Depending on the exposure, its taste varies, from very sweet to piquantly spicy.
5. Chevre au Poivre - looks like a pie, seasoned with pepper, rosemary and dill (fennel).
6. Chevrotin is a very popular product in this category. It has a fat content of 45%, has a creamy texture, unobtrusive aroma and pleasant taste.
7. Montrachet - production is located in the province of Burgundy. It has a creamy hue, and small shavings from recycled grapevine are laid out on top.
8.St. Marcellin is slightly sour and soft in texture.
9. Sainte Maure - has a thin edible crust and a cylindrical shape. With gradual aging, the unexpressed taste becomes much brighter.

Blue cheeses

This group got its name because of the color of the finished mass, which the mycelium gives it the same name. To prepare such delicacies, before ripening, the curd base is sown with spores, and then air channels are pierced through it using long needles or other devices. They help mold to properly develop and spread inside. Thanks to this additive, the product receives a special spicy aroma and taste. French blue cheese goes well with bread, fruit, desserts and unsalted crackers. As a rule, different provinces make their own version, and the masters call it after the place where it was produced.

1. Bleu d'Auvergne - originally from Auvergne, cow's milk is needed for making. It has a sharp and rich taste.
2. Roquefort is the most popular blue cheese. Produced exclusively from sheep's milk in the south of the country in special limestone caves.
3. Bleu de Bresse - the province of Bresse became the ancestor. It has a rectangular or cylindrical shape.
4. Pipo Creme - sharp, easy to cut and does not crumble. Everything has a thin edible crust.

French hard cheeses

The main distinguishing feature of this group is the presence of a large number of holes. This type is great for sandwiches and is often used for cooking.

1. Beaumont - has a particularly spicy taste, many closely spaced holes and a dark inedible crust are considered characteristic of it.
2. Comte (Comte) - matures in the province of Jura. It has holes the size of a cherry. It is produced in large rounded blocks, which can reach up to 35 kg in weight.
3. Emmental - perfectly complements sauces with its taste characteristics.
4. Mimolet (Mimolette) - made from cow's milk in the north of France. The texture is similar to cheddar. Bright yellow on the inside and darker on the outside.
5. Tom de Savoie - valued for its low fat content.
6. Cantal - considered gentle and rich in protein, which makes it the most attractive for those who are on a diet. Heads weigh up to 20 kg.

Processed cheeses

Made from different types of milk, tasty and light.

1. Beau Pasteur - has a delicate aroma, creamy texture, and it lacks a protective crust.
2. Fondu au Raisin - its taste characteristics are reminiscent of crushed grape seeds.
3. Gourmandise - simply indispensable for desserts, also has a cherry aftertaste.

Tasting

There is a special procedure for this. Cheese is taken out on one dish before dessert. It must be served with well-baked bread and wine. For such an event, 10-15 different varieties are selected. Most often it is an assorted, which is served with white semi-sweet or dry drinks from the same region of France, as they harmonize best together.

Choice of milk

Masters of their craft are very demanding on the product from which their masterpieces are made. A large number of factors influence the main indicators in the choice of raw materials, it should not be too liquid or obtained by unclean milking. The quality is not a small effect of the breed of cows and the diet of their feeding.

In order to make blue cheese, it is not recommended to use the milk of Dutch cows, although they give record milk yields, which merchants like, but it turns out to be too thin. Products from it always come out of poor quality, dry and ferment very often. For production, craftsmen use raw materials from local breeds, due to their high fat content and density.

The diet of animals should include silage, fermented feed and cake. In winter, it is best to give cows bran, alfalfa, well-dried meadow hay and clover. As a result, the finished product will always be of high quality.

Benefit

There is a lot of evidence that French white cheese is very nutritious, and this also applies to the blue group. With regular use, the risk of strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases is significantly reduced. The product creates a favorable field for the reproduction of beneficial bacteria, thereby completely preventing fermentation and dysbacteriosis. And also just one slice of cheese can replenish the body with more protein than fish and meat of the same volume. Of course, they go well with wines. For Camembert, young red Beaujolais is excellent, French Brie cheese wonderfully accompanies Chateau Clarcke. Roquefort can be combined with dessert

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Cheeses.

Abondance (fr. abondance) is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese with a smooth orange-brown rind, produced in the French department of Haute-Savoie. The pulp of the cheese is elastic, tender, slightly creamy ivory or yellowish with holes. The taste is rich, delicate, soft, with a fruity tinge and a nutty flavor.

Banon (French banon) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized goat's milk with a dry straw-colored rind with a light touch of gray-blue edible mold and soft pulp. The cheese ripens in a dark cellar at a temperature of 11-14 degrees Celsius and a humidity of more than 90%. To obtain young cheeses, the ripening period is two weeks, semi-ripe - 4-5 weeks and mature - 6-8 weeks. Banon goes well with fresh fruit or lightly roasted pears. It is paired with a blackcurrant liqueur Blanc de Cassis.

France is famous for its cheeses, there are more than 200 varieties of them. Camembert (French camembert) is a variety of soft, fatty cheese made from cow's milk and covered with a fluffy white crust. Has a color from white to light cream. The taste is spicy, spicy, a bit like mushroom. It is believed that the first Camembert was made in 1791 by a Norman peasant woman, Marie Harel.

Brie (fr. brie) - soft cheese made from cow's milk. Characterized by a pale color with a grayish tint under the "noble" white mold. The cheese has a pleasant taste and a slight smell of ammonia. Perhaps Brie is the most popular cheese in France, with more than 10 varieties, but only two types have AOC certification in France (Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun (Brie de Melun). Brie is very similar to Camembert, but its fat content is much lower. Named in honor of the French province where it was first made.

Roquefort (fr. Roquefort) is a blue French cheese made from sheep's milk and which ripens in limestone grottoes. Roquefort tastes like hazelnuts. For this cheese there is a special "knife" for cutting called roqueforets.

Bethmal (fr. bethmale) - uncooked pressed French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk, which has a slightly sweet and sour taste. Red wines, such as Fronton, or whites go great with Bethmal.

Bleu d'Auvergne (fr. Bleu d'Auvergne) is a French blue cheese laced with emerald blue mold veins. The cheese ripens for three months in damp cellars or cellars. Bleu d'Auvergne has a salty taste, but it is very spicy and spicy.

Beaufort (fr. beaufort) - semi-hard boiled pressed French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk with smooth and elastic ivory flesh. Beaufort is rich in calcium and protein, so it is recommended for pregnant women, the sick and the elderly. Cheese cannot be grated, in stores it is sold cut into thin slices, but it melts beautifully. It is used in the preparation of various dishes, as well as fondue. Best paired with wines Chablis, Roussette, Apremont, Chignin.

Valence (fr. valencay) - French goat's milk cheese, made in the form of a truncated pyramid. The cheese matures for 4 to 5 weeks in a well-ventilated dryer, for better preservation, the cheese is sprinkled with wood ash. The cheese is covered with a spicy thin crust with blue mold. The taste of valance is delicate, slightly sweet, reminiscent of hazelnuts. The local white wine Sancerre goes best with the cheese.

Vacherin des bauges (fr. vacherin des bauges) is a soft French cheese made from cow's milk, covered with gray mold and produced in farms in the Rhone-Alpes region (in the south-east of France). The cheese ripens after 2 weeks, during which every two days it is smeared with cream, diluted with water. Monthly aged cheese acquires a slight smell of coniferous resin. Red Savoie wine Vin de Savoie or Arbois is great.

Pouligny-saint-pierre (fr. pouligny-saint-pierre) is a French goat cheese with bluish mold, made in the shape of a pyramid. Hence the local name "Eiffel Tower". The cheese matures for 4 to 5 weeks on wooden shelves or straw mats. The cheese has a dense, slightly moist and fragrant pulp with the smell of goat's milk and the taste of hazelnuts. Young cheese is used for salads and toasts, mature - with white fruit wines of the Loire Valley such as Sancerre, Touraine and Reuilly.

Venaco (fr. venaco) - French semi-soft cheese made from sheep's milk, sometimes with the addition of goat, topped with a straw-orange crust, ripening from 1 to 2 weeks. The cheese is used for baking, while the more mature cheese is grated for pasta dishes and soups. Venaco goes well with wines: Vin de Corse red, Pinot noir, Côte d "Auvergne red, Sancerre red.

Vinle (fr. Vignelait) is a soft French cheese with a white moldy crust made from unpasteurized goat's milk, produced in Ile-de-France (French island) and Franche-Comté. In the process of making cheese, cream is added, so the cheese is classified as fatty (75%).

Coeur de Chevre (fr. coeur de chèvre) is a soft French cheese made from goat's milk, ripening from 8 days to 5 weeks. The name of the cheese is due to its shape in the form of a heart, because from the French "Coeur de Chèvre" is translated as "Goat's heart". Young cheese has a pale white color, and ripe - bluish. The taste of coeur de chevre is delicate with a slight sourness. The cheese is served with local La Reine des Reinettes apples. It pairs best with light white wines or reds from Poitou.

Vieux boulogne (fr. vieux boulogne) is a French soft cheese made from cow's milk with a bright orange rind, ripening from 7 to 9 weeks and made in the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer in Nord-Pas-de-Calais (in northern France). In the process of making cheese, it is soaked in beer. Vieux Boulogne has gained notoriety as the stinkiest French cheese.

Neuchâtel (fr. neufchâtel) is a French soft cheese made from cow's milk with a crust covered with white fluffy mold, with the aroma and delicate taste of mushrooms, produced in Upper Normandy (in northern France). The cheese matures for 8-10 weeks and has six traditional shapes: square, briquette, barrel, double barrel, heart, big heart. Neuchâtel is usually served at the end of a meal before dessert. It is consumed with fresh bread and Côtes du Rhône, Beaujolais, Pomerol or Saint-Emilion red wines.

Vieux Pané (fr. vieux pané) is a soft French cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk with a washed orange rind, produced in the department of Mayenne (western France). Cheese has a delicate aroma and piquant taste. Cheese ripens for two weeks. Vieux Panay goes well with wines made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc grapes.

Cabecou (French cabecou) is a soft French cheese made from raw cow's milk or a mixture of cow's, goat's and sheep's milk, covered with a thin, ribbed crust with white mold and produced on a farm in the historical region of Quercy (in southern France). The kabeka is sprinkled with black pepper and kept wrapped in chestnut leaves. The cheese ripens from 10 to 12 weeks, has a milky-creamy taste and aroma. Pairs well with St Joseph white wines (Marsanne, Roussanne grapes).

Osso-Iraty (fr. ossau-iraty) is an uncooked pressed semi-hard French cheese made from raw sheep's milk with an orange-yellow or grayish rind, produced in the south-west of France. The cheese matures for about 3 months in special rooms that are built of stone in the mountains. Osso Irati has a delicate nutty taste with a touch of olives and a spicy aroma. Most often, cheese is served with sweet wine Jurançon moelleux, as well as Grave, Irouléguy and Herrika-Arnoa wines.

Mont d "Or or Vasren-du-O-Du (fr. Mont d" Or) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk with a washed crust, produced in France and Switzerland. In Switzerland, this cheese is called Vacherin-Mont-d'Or and it is made from pasteurized milk. Cheese is sold in wooden boxes made of spruce. Mont-d'Or has a pleasant creamy taste, reminiscent of pine needles and mushrooms. Cheese is served with boiled potatoes and spread on white bread, and fondue is also made. Best paired with young red wine Beaujolais Nouveau and dry white Jurançon.

Cancuyote (fr. cancoillotte) is a liquid French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk, produced mainly in Franche-Comte, but also Lorraine and Luxembourg.

Metton (French metton) is a French cow's milk cheese that is made in Franche-Comté and matures within a few days. Metton cheese is completely low-fat - only 11%.

Cantal (fr. cantal) is a hard or semi-hard French cheese made from cow's milk, ripening from 3 to 6 months, sometimes up to a year, and is made in the province of Auvergne. The cheese inside is pale yellow with a thick golden crust with reddish mold. The flavor of the cheese intensifies with age. There are two types of cantal cheese: cantal fermier - a farmer's cheese made from raw milk and cantal laitier - a commercial one made from pasteurized milk. It is used to prepare soups, salads, potato dishes and fondue.

Saler or high-mountain saler (fr. salers) is an unboiled pressed semi-hard French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk, covered with a thick grayish-brown crust, under which there is a soft golden flesh. The minimum ripening period for cheese is 3 months, the maximum is up to 18 months. Saler has a bitter aftertaste and a rich herbal taste. Eat cheese with apples, nuts or grapes. Light wines are also served with cheese: white Saint Péray, rosé Saint Joseph, Saint Pourçain and red Marcillac.

Picodon (fr. picodon) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized goat's milk with a small amount of rennet additives, ripening for 2-4 weeks. In a young two-week-old cheese, the flesh and crust are white, in a more mature one, the flesh becomes elastic and acquires a yellow tint, and the crust becomes blue. There are different types of this cheese. It goes best with white wine Saint Joseph blanc or sparkling sweet Muscat Rivesaltes (Muscat de Rivesaltes).

Carré de L "Est (fr. Carre de L" Est) is a soft French cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk with a hard, washed rind covered with white mold, originating from Lorraine (a region in the north-east of France). Cheese ripens for five weeks.

La vache qui ri (French: La vache qui rit; translated from French means “jolly cow”, “laughing cow”) is a French processed cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk, produced by the Bel Group. Cheese is made from cream, milk, fresh and aged cheeses and then pasteurized. The company sells cheese in more than 90 countries around the world and is translated into the buyer's native language.

The literal translation from French of the word "fondue" means "melted". There are different types and methods of making fondue.

Pelardon or Pelardon-de-Cevennes (fr. pélardon) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized goat's milk, produced in the mountains of the Cevennes of the Languedoc Roussillon region (a region in southern France). The cheese ripens for 2-3 weeks in the cellar, where the temperature and humidity are constantly maintained, then it is dried. Pelardon has a sharp aroma. Cheese is served before dessert, as well as for preparing various dishes. Pairs best with Costieres du Gard and Clairette du Languedoc.

Maroy (fr. maroilles) - French cheese with a fat content of 45% from cow's milk with soft, elastic pulp and a washed crust. The cheese is named after the village of Maroy in northern France. Four types of cheese heads are produced: "large cobblestone", "sorbet", "mignon" and "quarter". The taste of cheese is sharp, strong and tart, as well as a specific taste and smell. Maroy is served with Lalande-de-Pomerol, Chateau-neuf du pape, Cahors and Moulis wines. In northern France, it is often consumed with beer or cider. As a rule, cheese is served before dessert with wheat bread and is used to prepare salads and other dishes.

Comte (fr. comte) is a French semi-hard cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk with a grayish-brown rind, produced in the Franche-Comte region in eastern France, after which the cheese is named. Cheese ripens from 8 to 12 months. The taste of the cheese is sweet.

Mimolette (fr. mimolette) is a hard French cheese made from cow's milk, usually produced in the Lille area in France. The cheese ripening period is from 6 months to 2 years, acquiring a special bitter shade with a fruity aftertaste.

Layol or Tom de Layol (fr. laguiole) is an unboiled pressed semi-hard French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk, covered with a grayish-brown rind and golden yellow flesh. The cheese matures for 4-12 months and has a sour taste with hints of mountain herbs - gentian, fennel and thyme. Best paired with Côtes du Rhône and Hermitage, as well as Marcillac, Buzet and Côtes du Frontonnais.

Mont-de-Ca (fr. mont des cats) - unboiled semi-hard pressed French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk with a golden crust and small holes. The cheese matures within two months and has a delicate, pleasant taste. Pairs well with dry white Muscat wines or white Graves. Usually cheese is also served with morning coffee.

Crotin de Chavignol (fr. crottin de chavignol) is a soft, unpressed French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk. Depending on the ripening period, the cheese has several official gradations: "half dry", "bluish", "blue" and "very dry". Crotin de Chavignoles has a pleasant taste with a slight sourness and a slightly hazelnut flavor. Usually served at the end of a meal with fruit and bread, as well as reheated on a grill on lettuce leaves, and is also used to make pancakes. Pairs well with white Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, or Sauvignon Blanc.

Langres (fr. langres) is a soft, unpressed French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk that matures for at least five weeks. The cheese has a sharp smell and a piquant taste of smoked bacon. In the center of the cheese head there is a small depression, which is called a "fountain", before serving, vodka is poured into this depression and allowed to soak. Pairs best with Mercurey, Nuits-Saint-Georges or Côte du Rhône red wines.

Coulommiers (fr. coulommiers) is a soft cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk of pale color with a grayish tint under the "noble" white mold, which got its name from the name of the commune of Coulommiers. Coulomier resembles brie in taste and method of production.

Pont-l "Evek (in Russia it is also called Pont-Leveque) is a soft cheese made from cow's milk with a washed crust. A rather odorous cheese with a pronounced taste, the sharpness and color of the crust of which depends on the ripening period (the more - the more pronounced the taste ).

Livaro is one of the most ancient and famous Norman cheeses. Produced from cow's milk, the texture is soft with a rich golden color with an orange crust. Its sharpness and odor depends on maturation. The peculiarity of this cheese is that it is wrapped five times with sea cane, so that the cheese does not settle during ripening. In France, five stripes corresponds to the rank of colonel, so the cheese has a French-popular name - "colonel".

Morachet (fr.montrachet) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized goat's milk with a piquant taste, produced in Burgundy. Morache is consumed fresh with young red (Burgundy) and white (meursault) wine.

Epuas (fr. epoisses) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk with a washed rind, ripening for 5-8 weeks. The cheese is cut into four parts and eaten with a dessert spoon. Light burgundy wines or slightly sweet white Chablis or Sauternes are better suited to cheese.

Morbier (fr. morbier) is a semi-soft pressed unboiled fatty cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk, ripening for two months. It differs from all cheeses in that it has a black layer of wood ash. The taste of morbier has a delicate fruity-nutty hue.

Fourme de Montbrison (fr. fourme de montbrison) is a French blue cheese made from cow's milk with a thin dry crust of gray and red, ripening from 4 to 8 weeks. The cheese has a spicy salty taste with the aroma of milk and nuts. Cheese is usually served with a slice of bread and grapes. Sauternes or Rivesaltes wines are best.

Motey-sur-feuille (fr. Mothais sur feuille) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized goat's milk in a natural crust. The cheese has an elastic and creamy texture. It is recommended to drink with rose champagne, white and red wines of the former province of Touraine or local.

Rollo (fr. rollot) is a French cheese made from cow's milk, ripening for four weeks. The cheese has a pronounced salty taste with a light pleasant bitterness. Pairs well with Sancerre red wine.

Monster or Monster-Jerome (fr. munster, munster-géromé) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk with a washed crust, ripening from 5 weeks to 3 months. Cheese is used to prepare various dishes, from which one can distinguish a mixture of jacket potatoes with melted cheese, stuffed pie and various salads.

Reblochon (fr. reblochon) - French soft cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk with a "washed rind", made in Savoie and ripening from 2 to 4 weeks. Ripe cheese has an orange rind with a thin white coating and a soft, sweetish creamy inside.

Temple (fr. templais) - pressed boiled French hard cheese from pasteurized cow's milk, produced at the Fromagerie Baechler cheese factory in Le Temple-sur-Lo in Aquitaine (southwest France). The cheese has a spicy aroma, straw-yellow pulp. Temple matures for 16 weeks.

Furm d "Amber (fr. Fourme d" Ambert) - French cheese made from cow's milk interspersed with blue mold, topped with a thin dry crust of gray or red. Cheese matures for at least 28 days. Served before dessert and used in the preparation of appetizers, salads, soufflés and as a filling for pancakes. Chinon, Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon wines are perfect for cheese.

Rigotte de Condrieu (French rigotte de condrieu) is a soft pressed French cheese made from goat's milk, covered with a thin crust of bluish mold.

Selles-sur-cher (fr. selles-sur-cher) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized goat's milk, covered with a bluish crust, ripening from 10 days to 3 weeks. It has a tender pulp of snow-white color with a characteristic smell of goat's milk. Selle-sur-cher is served thinly sliced ​​with an aperitif and warm grain bread, or at the end of a meal with other cheeses. White wine Sancerre or young red Chinon are best, as well as Bourgueil and Gamay.

Chabichou du poitou (French chabichou du poitou) is a French goat's milk cheese with a grayish-blue moldy rind and ivory flesh. The cheese matures for at least 10 days, but is usually kept in a dryer for 2-3 weeks. Chabichu-du-Poitou has a strong taste with a nutty aroma and a specific smell of goat's milk. The local wine of the Poitou region (in the west of France), white wine like "Sauvignon" or "Sanscerre" goes well.

Tamier or Abbe de Tamié (fr. abbaye de tamié) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk on top, covered with an orange-brown crust, made in the abbey of Tamier in the Savoie department (in eastern France). The pulp of the cheese is creamy in color with a small number of holes. Ripens 4 to 8 weeks. Tamier cheese melts well and is used to prepare various dishes, as well as sandwiches and sandwiches. Fruity white wines work well. There are two types of tamier cheese: petit tamier and grand tamier.

Rocamadour (fr. rocamadour) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized goat's milk with a crust of natural mold, covered with a white velvety crust. The cheese matures for 1-4 weeks in cellars on wooden shelves. Rocamadour has a slight smell of goat's milk and a spicy taste. The young six-day-aged cheese has a slightly sour pulp with a delicate nutty flavor, while more mature cheese becomes sharper. Cheese goes well with Cahors, Gaillac wine and white Vouvrey are also served.

Shaurs (fr. Chaource) - soft French cheese from unpasteurized cow's milk, ripening from 2 to 4 weeks. It has a delicate, slightly sour taste with the aroma of mushrooms and hazelnuts. Usually served before dessert, and sometimes diced along with an aperitif. Burgundy wines Chablis blanc and Irancy are ideal.

Saint-Nectaire (French saint-nectaire) is a soft unboiled pressed French cheese made from cow's milk. The cheese matures in 5 to 8 weeks. Saint-Nectaire has a hardened crust, smelling of straw and oats, and tender, elastic yellow flesh with the taste of hazelnuts, mushrooms, salt and spices. Red Bordeaux wines St. Estèphe, Pouilly, as well as Coteaux d'Auvergne and Cotes Roannaises.

Sainte Agur is a semi-hard French blue cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk and matured for two months. The consistency is creamy, elastic and pasty with splashes of blue mold. The sharp taste of blue mold harmonizes well with the soft creamy taste of cheese. Always produced in an octagonal shape, packed in foil.

Tom de Bauges (fr. tome des bauges) is a semi-hard, unboiled French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk, produced exclusively in the Bauges massif in Savoy (a department in eastern France). The cheese is covered with a grayish rind with some yellow-brown mold. The pulp of the cheese is straw-colored with small holes. The cheese matures within 5 weeks and has a piquant taste.

Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine (Fr. sainte-maure-de-touraine) is a soft French cheese made from unpasteurized goat's milk, covered with a bluish-gray crust of fluffy mold. Cheese ripening time from 10 days to 6 weeks. A straw remains in the head of the cheese, which is used during ripening and plays the role of ventilation. The pulp of the cheese has a salty-sour taste with a nutty aroma. Serve as an aperitif or at the end of a meal. Used to make toast. Local light dry wines are best suited for cheese: white Vouvray and Sancerre or young red Chinon.

Tom de Savoie (French tomme de savoie) is a semi-hard unboiled pressed French cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk with a thick gray-brown rind that is not edible, has spots of natural yellow and red mold. The cheese matures within 10 weeks. The pulp of the cheese is tender, elastic and slightly salty, has small "eyes". The smell of cheese is slightly "raw", and the taste has fruity and herbal tones. Pairs best with Savoy and Côtes de Beaune wines. Cheese is also served with sausages, fruits and bread.

Blue cheese is an exquisite component for many culinary masterpieces. Each piece intrigues with a complex flavor range, attracts with an elegant crust and delicate pulp. What kind of product will delicately ennoble a salad, sauce or dessert: Roquefort with emerald veins, fluffy Camembert or fragrant pastel orange livaro...

Depending on the type of penicillin, the manufacturing technology and the ripening conditions of the cheese, snow-white, bluish-green or reddish-orange mold appears. Noble culture affects the texture of the product, its culinary characteristics, gives a characteristic flavor range and aroma. In appearance, a beautiful slice often repels with an unusual pungent smell, pungency and spice. How not to spoil the food with a specific product? It's time to study the properties of each variety. - a topic for a separate article.

Delicacies with white mold

The cheese is intriguing with its snow-white and shaggy crust, sometimes with reddish threads. Mold thrives in special basements where the required humidity and temperature are maintained. Penicillin is thrown into water, and the pressed cheese mass is sprayed with the resulting solution. An elite and expensive product ripens for about 8 weeks: first, a dense shell is formed, and then a tender center with a creamy-nutty or fruity flavor is formed.

Brie is a favorite of the French kings

Cheese is usually made from cow's milk, but sometimes goat's or sheep's milk is used, Provence herbs are added to some varieties. Brie can also be ripened at home until the first slice is cut off. When buying, you should take a closer look at the appearance, because the delicacy has a short shelf life. The grayish tint of the pulp, a spotty crust and a pronounced ammonia smell indicate an overripe product - this will only harm and no benefit.

Velvet famous cheese beckons with a nutty aroma and a pleasant creamy taste with hints of mushrooms and fruits. Soft and melting pulp is hidden under the shaggy shell. Young brie is slightly sweet, while mature brie is spicy and has a bright smell. The flavor range of the delicacy is revealed only at room temperature, so you should not eat it chilled.

Brie de Meux is sold in a box with a small layer of straw. Under the thin crust hides a yellowish, creamy and oily pulp, which practically does not spread. Cheese is famous for its rich aroma and pronounced sweetish-nutty flavor.

Brie de Melin is distinguished by a more yellow and dense center than the first grade. It captivates with a bright aroma with notes of mold, cellar and hay, conquers with a strong and refreshing taste. The French throw velvet bits into pastry fillings, especially delicious with rustic bread after dinner.

Black brie (Brie Noir) stands out from the subgroup with a very pronounced aroma, rich notes and a long aftertaste, as it matures under special conditions throughout the year. It is covered with a gray-black, as if dusted, crust, which is slightly cleaned with the blunt side of the knife. Previously, it did not go on sale, as it was considered a lunch of cheesemakers: a couple of circles of cheese were left for food in reserve. Every month, the flavor range of black brie becomes brighter and more specific.

What is velvet cheese served with:

• brie goes well with melon, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, arugula and other lettuce leaves, apples (especially green), balsamic dark vinegar;
• it is added to batter, fondue, cottage cheese casseroles, pies, not to mention soups and second courses;
• the French bake croissants with tender melting cheese filling;
• puff with apricots and brie - a unique delicacy;
• pieces are breaded in small breadcrumbs, fried in a pan (deep-fried), served only hot with a slide of greens, fruits, vegetables.

Camembert - the legend of Normandy

The delicacy visually resembles brie, and for good reason. The story goes that in gratitude for the salvation, one monk told the Norman girl the secret of making the popular French cheese with snow-white mold, and Napoleon named the extraordinary delicacy in honor of the village of Camembert.

Unlike the progenitor, plush cheese is made more miniature: weighing 300 grams and with a circle radius of 11 cm. It has a fatter and denser yellowish flesh. There are pleasant notes of milk, earth, cellar and mold, fruits, mushrooms, herbs and nuts. As it matures, its refined taste becomes salty and expressive. The texture is soft in the center, elastic at the edges, and excessive hardness and unpleasant bitterness are signs of an overripe product.

Real Normandy Camembert (AC) is made only from cow's milk and is sold in a thin veneer box. Authentic cheese has a salty and slightly peppery taste, without any sweetness. A special technology does not allow the product to be prepared until September and after May, but fakes are often found in the markets.

Amazing dishes are prepared with camembert:

• baked in the oven with raisins and herbs, served with sweet and sour berry sauces;
• it is recommended to serve not with wine, but with Calvados and cider;
• cheese is combined with pears, apples, berries, homemade bread;
• the product is cut in half, soaked in liquor or fortified wine, breaded and thrown into deep fat, served with lingonberry sauce;
• Camembert is not properly eaten immediately after the refrigerator, it is better to postpone for 15 minutes.

Buch de Chevre - exquisite piquancy

Cheese is made in Russia using French technology. It contains Spanish noble mold and milk from exotic Nubian goats. It looks like a large roll, covered with a thick layer of snow-white crust. It has a delicately spicy taste, which is intertwined with nutty notes near the velvet shell and a creamy flavor closer to the middle.

Buch de Chevre is eaten with sweet tea, hot sandwiches or added to salads. It is combined with mint, berries, grapes, asparagus, mixed salad, avocado, cherry tomatoes, wine sauces. The product is cleaned from mold, breaded in almond flakes and fried in vegetable oil. Hot Buch de Chevre is served separately, decorated with raspberries and blueberries, or complements cold dishes.

Blue cheeses - royal nobility

Cheese with emerald veins has a spicy, slightly spicy and rich flavor range. Molds (usually Penicillium roqueforti or glaucum are used) are injected with fine needles or added along with rennet. To prepare Roquefort according to traditional technology, the culture is first grown on rye bread. Metal tubes must be inserted into the pulp of the cheese, since mold does not develop without air. During the ripening process (3 months), the crust is thoroughly washed with a sponge, which also has a positive effect on the growth of beneficial bacteria.

Roquefort - the aristocratic cheese of France

The cheese ripens under special conditions: at low temperatures, high humidity and good ventilation. It is made exclusively from sheep's milk, which is why the product acquires a complex and sharp taste with a nutty tint. The flesh is white with beautiful greenish cells, firm and slightly crumbly.

Roquefort quickly deteriorates due to sudden changes in temperature. It is undesirable to leave it on the table for more than 5 minutes, it is better to immediately cut off a piece for cutting, and place the rest in the refrigerator. Cheese at room temperature should not be put to a chilled product.

Roquefort is crushed and stuffed with flounces, soufflés, pies and sauces are prepared, served with pasta and all kinds of salads. It goes well with apple, grapes, citruses, mung bean salad.

Gorgonzola (or Gorgonzola) - the pride of Italy

Noble Italian cheese is made from cow's milk (traditionally morning and evening milking), which makes the product quite spicy, moderately fatty, with dense pulp. However, another softer tasting gorgonzola is commercially available, made from a single milking. Its crust is slightly rough, hard, reddish-orange in color with a whitish coating. The body of the cheese is yellowish-white or beige, especially near the shell, traces of punctures are visible. Emerald blue mold spreads throughout the area, creating interesting patterns. The cheese is fatty and soft, and may crumble slightly when cut.

Popular varieties of gorgonzola are called "dolce" and "picante". The first has a sweet and delicate taste. The second is sharper, spicier and deeper with a bright aroma, so it is more often used for cooking. Cheese ripens for 2-4 months, and is stored for no more than 30 days. It is not difficult to find out if the cheese has gone bad - the expired product has a too sharp unpleasant odor, the flesh becomes rich yellow, begins to harden and break badly. A sticky opaque liquid appears on the crust.

From gorgonzola, you can cook any dishes, depending on its flavor palette:

• potato salad with crispy bacon slices;
• creamy sauce for roast veal;
• add souffle, pies, mousses, bruschettas, canapes;
• it is good with black or white chocolate, citrus, watermelon, peaches;
• gives a peculiar aftertaste of game birds (grouse with ducks);
• pizza and pasta from a small amount will become more refined.

Try to cook - the taste is divine!

Variety of savory blue cheeses

French bleu d'Auvergne has a pleasant oily, spicy and tart aftertaste with fruity notes, amazing with a delicate aroma of mushrooms. Its flesh is loose, sticky, moist, dotted with marble stains of blue-green mold. He is considered one of the best in his family. The crust is rough and dense, powdered with a gray or orange bacterial culture. Bleu d'Auvergne is added to flour products, pizzas, cheese soufflé, pancakes. Salads are prepared with croutons (be sure to lubricate the bread with butter), they like to combine with walnuts.

Danish donablu is a salty and spicy cheese with a pronounced refreshing sourness. It has a sticky crust, beautiful flesh with dark blue veins and carelessly scattered cells. The middle is creamy and soft, moderate fat content. The product is perfectly cut into slices, which allows you to decorate the dish more beautifully than Gorgonzola or Roquefort. It is difficult to choose wine for it, it is better to combine it with gin or Danish aquavit (strong tincture with spices and herbs).

No less refined and German "Dor Blue", the manufacturing features of which have been considered a trade secret for more than a century, "Kezerai Champignon Hofmeister". The same company produces one of the varieties of dor blue cheeses - Grand Blue.

Delicacies with red mold - a gourmet dream

Red rind cheeses are distinguished from other dairy delicacies by their unique cooking technology. Noble crops are not added to the mass, they themselves are formed in the process of maturation in cold cellars with a humidity of up to 98%. The crust is periodically cleaned with brushes, washed with brine or alcoholic beverages (wine, cider, calvados), due to which the mold changes shade, gives the cheese a pronounced and not always pleasant aroma. The flesh is usually tender and creamy, sometimes with a brittle center. The delicacy acquires interesting colors: yellowish, reddish-brown, sometimes with a red tint and a white moldy coating.

French cheeses with washed rinds

Livaro in the old days replaced meat products for the population. It has a rich, spicy, spicy taste and a specific smell. Mature cheese has an unusual aftertaste with a hint of dried meat. The consistency of the pulp is homogeneous, dense, fine-grained, slightly elastic, moderately oily. The shell is bright, golden brownish and glossy with a white coating. Distinctive features of livaro: the sides of the cheese are wrapped around 5 strips of cane or paper so that it does not settle during the ripening process. Its crust is washed with brine, into which annatto food coloring is thrown. The real livaro AC is made exclusively in Pays d'Auge (Norman province). The delicacy is especially good for hot dishes, salads and desserts.

Reblochon began to be prepared in the distant Middle Ages, mainly after the arrival of tax collectors. To reduce the volume of milk produced during inspections, cows were milked in a special way. After the uninvited guests left, the process was repeated, and more fatty and rich raw materials were obtained for making cheese. Such milk was called "rebloche". The crust of the delicacy is thin, yellowish or pale orange, covered with white mold pollen. The pulp is elastic, pliable, creamy consistency. The aroma is reminiscent of pastures and flower meadows with a pleasant touch of damp cellar. Reblochon attracts with a bright salty, nutty and creamy flavor with fruity notes. On rustic cheese pucks there is a green circle, made at the factory - red. The latter differs from the traditional product: milk from three different breeds is not used, there is no specific aroma of herbs.

Epoisse fascinates with its contrast: a sharp, strong smell and a delicate creamy taste. During the ripening process, the crust is washed with brine and wine diluted with water. It turns out slightly ribbed, red-brown in color with a bright red tint. The pulp is supple, delicate texture. The taste is quite complex, sweetish-salty, there are pronounced creamy and mineral tones. The aroma resembles the specific aftertaste of grape vodka. In young cheeses, the middle is fragile and hard with a fruity aroma, but as it matures, it becomes softer, and the smell is pungent, pungent. For desserts, salads and snacks, only an adult product is used.

Münster-Jerome is an original delicacy. Its crust is slightly uneven, moist and glossy, yellow-orange with a reddish tint. The pulp of the cheese is homogeneous, creamy, but quite dense and elastic. The sweetish taste of the young product becomes sharper every day, more pronounced spicy notes appear. To enhance the specific aroma, cumin is sometimes added, and cumin makes the product more piquant. Münster has a special place in Alsatian cuisine. They are sprinkled on potato dishes or added to salads, served with Alsatian beer or wine.

Taleggio - Italian luxury

The cheese attracts with a fragrant orange rind with a thin white coating (there is a seal on the genuine product). The consistency is tender, creamy, but elastic, slightly spreads at room temperature. The flesh attracts with a beautiful ivory color. The taste is pleasant, slightly sweet with a delicate sourness and fruity aftertaste. The product is not spicy even as it matures, it only becomes more saturated. In taste and aroma there are refined notes of wet cellars, sometimes truffles. Taleggio is traditionally prepared in the summer, exclusively from the milk of cows tired after pasture. It is a pity that it is produced for export all year round, which greatly affects the taste. Taleggio goes well with spaghetti and is included in many salads, sauces and hot dishes.

Cheeses with a red rind are a real delicacy for gourmets. However, it is not worth buying if there is a pronounced smell of ammonia, the shell is too wet and sticky, and the wrapper is firmly stuck to the product. The delicacy should not burn the tongue or throat, despite its specific spiciness.

Properly selected aristocratic cheese will give an ordinary dish spicy notes, a bright aftertaste. Even a small piece of delicacy will set off the flavor range of other components in an original way.

At the end of the video on how to find out whether cheese with noble mold is fresh or not:

French cheeses have long been the talk of the town. The name sounds like gourmet music, and French President Charles de Gaulle said: "How can you manage a country that has 258 varieties of cheese." His quote refers to the first half of the 20th century, and today there are even more varieties. There are names of cheeses that have been produced on the territory of a particular region of France for more than one century, and their names, region of origin and production technology are protected by certificates at the state level.

We present you a list with photos of the best and most popular varieties of French cheese, which will help you navigate the world of gourmet delicacies and better understand the national cuisine of France.

Camembert

Perhaps the most famous French cheese, the name of which was given by the area of ​​​​its origin in Normandy. Camembert has a white velvety moldy crust, a soft fatty texture, a delicate taste and a rather sharp aroma, which the French poet Fargue called "the smell of the feet of God."

Camembert (photo: @realcheeseheads)

Bree

Brie is often confused with Camembert, and it is indeed similar in appearance and texture, but significantly inferior in expressiveness of aroma and fat content (only 25%). For this reason, brie is considered a more versatile soft mold cheese that has been known since the Middle Ages.

Brie (photo: @mercato_tlv)

Conte

This hard French cheese is called "Gruyère de Comté" for its similarity to the eponymous cheese. Classic conte is made from unpasteurized cow's milk, has a pleasant sweet taste with a nutty flavor.

Conte (photo: @bettys_bite)

Roquefort

Another French cheese very popular all over the world is soft with blue mold. Traditional Roquefort is made from sheep's milk and has a buttery texture and a salty taste.

Roquefort (photo: @24cheeses)

Tom de Savoie

A semi-hard cheese with an elastic texture with a white moldy crust and small eyes. Produced in the regions of Savoy and Haute-Savoie. This is the only French certified cheese that can have different fat content - from 10% to 25%.

Tom de Savoie (photo: @gemmy_foods)

Saint Nectaire

The oldest cheese produced in the Auvergne region of France, it is also called the first farm cheese. It has a hard moldy crust, semi-soft texture and pulp with a delicate taste of forest mushrooms or spices. Ideal for serving with wines from Bordeaux.

Saint-Nectaire (photo: @osteaddict)

Reblochon

Reblochon de Savoie is a soft Savoy cheese with a hard, brine-washed rind and intense aroma. In the French village of La Clusaz, a separate reblochon festival is held, during which the cheese is prepared and tasted on the spot.

Reblochon (photo: @realcheeseheads)

Munster

Münster-Jerome is a soft cheese with a washed orange-red rind and a very pungent aroma. It began to be produced by Italian Benedictine monks in a monastery in the French department of the Vosges. Later, the village of Münster appeared on this place, and the cheese got its name.

Münster-Jerome (photo: @julianoschier)

Cantal

Another hard cheese from Auvergne, which is considered one of the oldest varieties in France. Farmer's cantal is made from raw milk, and commercial cantal is made from pasteurized milk. The cheese has a bright pronounced taste and aroma, its crust is hard and thick.

Cantal (photo: @melbourneandcheese)

Epuas

A soft, tender cheese with an orange or brick red rind, depending on the degree of maturity. It began to be produced in the commune of Epoisses in Burgundy and is said to have been Napoleon Bonaparte's favorite cheese. It is eaten with a dessert spoon and served with Burgundy wines.

Epuas (photo: @porkewedeli)

Morbier

Morbier, like Comté, comes from the Franche-Comté region of France. It is a semi-soft cheese with a hard rind that has one "decorative" feature that distinguishes it from many others. A thin strip of crushed charcoal passes through the middle of the cheese circle. Today, this is just a tribute to tradition, but once a strip of soot was a necessary measure.

French peasants made morbier, composing it from two pieces of fermented milk. The first piece was obtained after the evening milking of the cow, the second - after the morning. Thus, the first piece of cheese had to wait one night, and so that it did not deteriorate, it was smeared on top with a layer of soot, and the next day a second piece was placed on it.

Morbier (photo: @saltynsweets)

Shaurs

A soft cheese with a dense white moldy rind that has been produced since the 14th century. The cheese has a delicate, slightly sour taste and a nut-mushroom aroma.

Shaurs (photo: @yeor.lifestyle)

Mimolet

Mimolet is a recognizable bright orange cheese with a spherical head. Its production began by decree of Louis XIV, according to which it was necessary to create a French analogue of the Dutch edama. In order for the fleet to have visible differences, they began to add vegetable dye to it. The birthplace of this cheese is the city of Lille in northern France.

Mimolette (photo: @lajambedc)

valence

Pyramid-shaped goat cheese without a sharp top, has a delicate taste and aroma. The moldy crust of the cheese is dense and has a gray-blue tint due to the fact that it is sprinkled with wood ash. Recommended for pairing with white wines.

Valence (photo: @parisismykitchen)

coeur de chevre

The name translated from French means "goat's heart", which clearly characterizes this cheese. It is made from raw goat's milk and the cheese head is shaped like a heart. The cheese is soft, with a moldy crust, the color varies from delicate white for young and grayish for mature.

Coeur de Chevre (photo: @181delicatessen)

Delis de Bourgogne

A "delicacy from Burgundy" has been known in regional French cuisine since the 18th century. This delicate soft cream cheese has a dense light flesh covered with a velvety moldy crust.

Delis de Bourgogne (photo: @infamousmarysia)

Saint Felicien

Soft French cheese with a pronounced milky-creamy taste. It is forbidden to add any spices and additives to it that will disturb the harmony of its taste and aroma.

Saint-Félicien (photo: @111quesos)

Rocamadour

Soft goat cheese with a moldy crust and sour pulp with a delicate nutty flavor. Produced in Lot department in Occitania.

Rocamadour (photo: @ruthstameister)

Picodon

Another soft goat cheese made in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region. It has several varieties that differ in maturity and taste. The young cheese has a light flesh and rind, and as the picodon matures, its flesh becomes firmer and the moldy rind becomes blue.

Picodon (photo: @cheesetrotteurs)

Puligny St. Pierre

Soft goat cheese in the form of a pyramid, for which it is often called the "Eiffel Tower". The crust is moldy, bluish, the flesh has a slight taste of hazelnut.

Pouligny-Saint-Pierre (photo: @cheesetrotteurs)

Crottin de Chavignoles

Soft cheese made from goat's milk, which is usually served with fruits and white wines. The cheese comes from the French village of Chavignoles, where it began to be produced in the 16th century.

Crottin de Chavignoles (photo: @osteaddict)

Pelardon

Delicate French pelardon is considered the oldest goat cheese in Europe. In addition, thanks to goats grazing on natural pastures, the cheese is made from organic milk, which cannot but inspire the eco-conscious gourmet.

Pelardon (photo: @cheesetrotteurs)

Livaro

A soft cheese from Normandy, which was once called the "meat of the poor", and today it is a real elite product. Livaro is made from cow's milk, its flesh, depending on maturity, has a more or less saturated yellow-orange hue. The livaro crust is distinguished by a deep orange color due to the vegetable dye that is used to color the product during the ripening period.

Livaro (photo: @moon_yeka)

Lyol

A semi-hard cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk. Layol has a thick brown-gray rind, and the flesh has a sour taste with pronounced hints of aromatic herbs.

Lyol (photo: @redvioletblog)

Pont l'Eveque

A soft cow's milk cheese produced in Normandy. The first mention of this cheese is found in the historical chronicles of the XII century. It has a washed moldy crust, a sharp aroma and a sweetish aftertaste. Pairs well with cider and red wines.

Pont l'Eveque (photo: @cavebrut)

Bleu d'Auvergne

A blue cheese from the Auvergne that is less salty than other blue cheeses. Its texture is buttery, and the cheese itself is more delicate in taste.

Bleu d'Auvergne (photo: @alain_hess)

Saler

Semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk, obtained from cows of the Saler breed. Salers is considered one of the oldest cheeses in France - its history goes back more than two thousand years. The cheese has a deep rich taste and aroma, golden flesh, dense and at the same time soft texture.

Saler (photo: @quesovaldivieso)

Chevrotin

A soft Savoyard cheese made from raw goat's milk with a savory nutty flavor. It has a dense moist pulp with holes, a dense peel from yellow to orange, covered with a pronounced coating of white mold.

Chevrotin (photo: @alessandro.grano)