The Big Cheese
About four blocks away from the boat is a fresh food market, Les Halles, and therein lies a wonderful cheese shop, Mons Fromager Affineur. They have been selling cheese for fourteen years so they are not likely to cut and run. Laurent Mons is the proprietor of this family business and is regarded as the Meilleur Ouvrier de France, which directly translates to "Best Worker in France" but probably more closely means the best in his trade. He is capably assisted by Claude Rogard and both speak English well enough to provide advice on selecting cheeses; which ones are ready to eat, which present the best balance of aroma and taste, how each cheese is made, and where. Just going there is a good experience and, since I have always wanted to run a cheese shop, it doesn't take much encouragement to pay them a visit.
One of our favourite cheeses is Mont D'Or, not just for its bountiful flavour but also for its interesting production. This cheese is produced in the Haute-Doubs region near Besancon. It is a "lait cru" or non-pasteurized product which adds to the flavour. This is a cow's milk cheese but the most interesting aspect is that it is only made during the winter, when the cows are fed in the barn. In the summer, the same cows' milk is used to make a firmer cheese, Comte. Also non-pasteurized, it has a cheddar-like firmness and flavour very different from the soft winter production.
Recently we had the chance to try Reblochon, a soft, white, mild cheese. It is a lait cru cows' milk cheese from the Savoie region. Delicious with a light wine and rosemary crackers, it is not nearly as strong as our usual selections, but is great for a mid-afternoon snack.
Our tastes run to the strong and stinky fromages. No denying it! Our favourites include Fragrance de Berger, a Corsican cheese made from mixed goat and sheep milk, Langres, from the Haute-Marne, and Roquefort, a "fort" sheep's milk blue cheese from the Rouergue. The mouldy blue bits are encouraged to grow by sprinkling rye bread in the curds before placing in the moulds. The bread goes mouldy and the mould lives on the cheese. How someone came up with this process, I don't know. It was probably a shepherd studying to be a chemical engineer who, like Bill Gates, quit before graduating because he was on to a good thing.
On the lighter side, there are a lot of lait cru cheeses made from goats' milk. The Saint Maure comes from the Loire district. It is coated with grey ash which provides a contrast with the stark white interior. We find these cheeses to be best when heated in the microwave. This may be sacrilege but it turns the somewhat dry texture to creamy, which with the pungent flavour makes a great finish to a meal, particularly when accompanied by a sweet wine.
