Posts tagged with "French cheese"

Hommage to a Great Fromage (Yes We *Camembert*!)

Posted by Mr. Transparent No Comments
Nov 16 2011

Although it is un nouveau venu (a newcomer) to the crowded Hall of Fame of les fromages français (French cheeses), Camembert quickly rose to the lofty prominence of most popular cheese in France, and by far the most famous throughout the entire world: Now, wouldn’t you say that deserves some r-e-s-p-e-c-t for Monsieur Camembert?

According to his autobiographical “Secret Life”, the now iconic “Persistence of Memory” painting was suggested to early surrealism enthusiast Salvador Dalí by observing a Camembert cheese slowly melting under la chaleur (the heat) of a Summer day

One tenuous story claims that its ascension fulgurante (meteoric rise) traces its roots back to the shaky times of la Révolution française (French revolution), at the eponymous village of Camembert in Lower Normandie, dubbed “the largest small village in France.”

Marie Harel

 

In fact, the name Camembert can be broken into to parts: “Camp-Membert“, or “Membert field” (“camp” meaning “field” in Norman, which sounds close enough to the same French word, “champs“, as in “Champs-Élysées.”)

To this day, the village of Camembert proudly boasts a statue of the one woman officially credited as the mother of the soft creamy milk-based product: Madame Marie Harel.

Contrary to widespread belief, the authentic Camembert is made of le lait cru (unpasteurized cow milk), and contains a minimum of 45% fat—In other words, if you’re planning to start a “real” Camembert régime (diet), then just forget it!
However, other versions based on treated milk exist as well, as the current law requires a minimum affinage period of trois semaines (three weeks.)
YouTube Preview Image

“Dites fromage“ (“say cheese“)! Commercial for the French Cheese “PRÉSIDENT“—A feature that applies to all kinds of “Presidents” as well (Keep scrolling down, you’ll get it) :)

Camembert is famously tasty with a baguette de pain (bread.) It can be enjoyed with nuts or even fruits. Culinary connaisseurs advise that it is best savored at température de chambre (room temperature.)

“Ze Small Urge to Merge“:

 Notwithstanding la crise financière (the financial crisis) plaguing the whole Euro zone, French President Nicolas Sarkozy remains a “big” fan of les fusions et acquisitions (the corporate finance term in French for “mergers and acquisitions“), hence the widely spread rumor of him urging the two famous Camembert brands “Le Petit” and “Président” to merge their operations at once (With Nicolas, of course, making a perfect fit for the mascot of the thus newly-created milk-based food delicacy: “Le Petit Président“)

Can You Say “Fromage”? Meet Monsieur Camembert!

Posted by Mr. Transparent 1 Comment
Jun 15 2011

 

Despite the fact that it is relatively un nouveau venu (a newcomer) into the much older and super crowded scene of les fromages français (French cheeses), Camembert quickly emerged as the most popular cheese in France, and by far the most famous in the world: Wouldn’t you say that deserves some r-e-s-p-e-c-t ?

According to his autobiographical “Secret Life”, the now iconic “Persistence of Memory” painting of early surrealism enthusiast Salvador Dalí was suggested to him by observing a Camembert cheese slowly melting under the chaleur (heat) of a Summer day

One tenuous legend says that its ascension fulgurante (meteoric rise) traces its beginnings to the shaky times of la Révolution française (French revolution), at the eponymous village of Camembert in Lower Normandie, dubbed “the largest small village in France.”

Marie Harel

 

In fact, the name Camembert can be broken this way: “Camp-Membert“, or “Membert field” (“camp” meaning “field” in Norman, which sounds close enough to the same French word, “champs“, as in “Champs-Élysées.”)

To this day, the village of Camembert boasts a statue of the one woman credited as the mother of the soft creamy milk-based product: Madame Marie Harel.

Contrary to widespread belief, the authentic Camembert is made of le lait cru (unpasteurized cow milk) and contains a minimum of 45% fat—In other words, if you planned on starting a “real” Camembert régime (diet), just forget it.
However, other versions based on treated milk exist as well, as the law now requires a minimum affinage period of trois semaines (three weeks.)

YouTube Preview Image

“Dites fromage“ (say “cheese”)! Commercial for the French Cheese “PRÉSIDENT“—A feature that applies to other varieties of “Presidents” as well (take a look below) :)

Camembert is famously tasty with a baguette de pain (bread.) It can be enjoyed with nuts or even fruits, and culinary connaisseurs advise that it is best eaten at température de chambre (room temperature.)

“The urge to merge”: Notwithstanding la crise financière (the financial crisis), French President Nicolas Sarkozy remains a “big” fan of les fusions et acquisitions (the corporate finance French term for “mergers and acquisitions“), hence the rumor in high French business circles that he urged the two Camembert brands “Le Petit” and “Président” to merge their operations at once (With him, of course, making a perfect fit for the mascot of the newly created milk-based food delicacy: “Le Petit Président“)



French Cuisine – Fromage

Posted by Transparent Language No Comments
Aug 31 2009

A few things happened to me when I lived in France that made me begin to understand one of the major points of French culture – le fromage!  First of all, as a student who had to go out and get her own groceries for lunch, one of my first excursions was to a supermarket and the cheese aisle was about as long as the snacks aisle in the US (not just Roquefort, Camembert and Brie).  I later was told that there are over 1000 different kinds of cheese produced in France.  That’s a lot of cheese!  There are soft cheeses, hard cheeses, blues, goat’s cheeses (chèvre), herbed/garlic (Boursin) cheeses and much, much more.
Fromage

After about six months of living in France, I was invited to a friend’s house for lunch.  After the main course, out came the hostess with a large, round dish with several different cheeses on it.  My friend told me to take some of whichever I liked or to try them all.  So, I grabbed my knife and was just about to cut off the bottom of one of the cheese triangles, when his father waved me off and said, “On ne se coupe pas le fromage comme ça!” (You don’t cut cheese like that!).  After seeing how red I got in the face, he quickly laughed it off and said not to worry and explained to me that you are supposed to cut cheese in a way that everyone gets an equal part.  So instead of left/right (or just hacking the point off), you should cut the wedge from the top to the bottom.  In other words, with the large end of the wedge at the top, you cut a slice off vertically.  He then proceeded to explain the different taste of each of the cheeses and took great pleasure in getting me to try them all and discuss them.  Each different kind of cheese is cut in a different way, but always with the same principle behind the cut- that each person basically gets an equal part and for the cheese not to look demolished as it is served again and again after each meal on the cheese platter.  Custom is to pass the cheese platter around the table with each person carefully cutting a portion from each type of cheese and placing their portions on their own plate to eat them once everyone has been served.  You normally won’t see French people reaching to the center of the table to get more and more cheese.  If someone does want more, they usually take the platter to serve themselves more or ask someone to pass them the platter.
Years later when I again lived in France, a friend of mine would often invite me out to dinner and would always make a point to tell me to close my eyes and savor the cheese served after the meal and tell him if I could taste the grass the cheese-making animals had eaten prior to getting milked.  What???  Can you actually taste the grass in the cheese?  Is this true or is this just exaggerative French people for you again, I remember asking myself.  Needless to say, I never could taste the grass.  It just tasted like cheese to me, albeit delicious.

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