Fromages: An Expert's Guide to French Cheese

by Dominique Bouchait

A French master fromager shares over 30 years of expertise in selecting, storing, and serving cheese - from Abondance to Valençay

There are many books about cheese, but this one features the professional knowledge and passion of a French master fromager who shares his expertise on making sense of the many cheese varieties--crumbly, creamy, buttery, moldy--for which France is famous. From farms in the pastoral French countryside and cheese caves in a medieval Alpine monastery to the dairy scientists and affineurs who comprise the world of modern French cheese, no other book that covers the entire cheese spectrum.

The book begins with answers to 70 commonly heard questions -- from why there are crusts on some cheese to why is mimolette orange and why cheeses do not all smell alike - and sections explaining the basics of cheese-making and ripening, the nuances of cow, sheep, and goat milk, and the alchemy of essential probiotics used as starter cultures.

The main part of the book pays tribute to France's 45 A.O.P. cheeses - such as Brie de Meaux, Maroilles, Morbier, Munster, Rocquefort, Valençay - which have been granted the appellation d'origine protégée guaranteeing origin and type. Each profile features a full-page photographic portrait with detailed text about terroir and origin, selection, tasting, presentation, serving, and wine pairing.

Genres: Food

240 pages, Hardcover

Published March 5, 2019

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

I found this book to be an excellent roundup of all aspects of cheesemaking in France. As an uneducated cheese-lover, I was delighted to learn about the chemistry of the cheese-making process and the very specific ways in which cheese is classified. The second half of the book is dedicated to each of the 45 AOP cheeses in France, giving practical information about storage, what to look for when buying the cheese, and most importantly how to eat it and with what. I'm going through each cheese one at at a time and have already fallen in love with several cheeses that I probably would have never purchased had I not read about them. (Never judge a cheese by its rind!).

A few recommendations: Banon is truly delicious, creamy and simple; Charolais, a firm, subtle goat cheese has a delicious peppery aftertaste; La Fourme D'Ambert is a satisfying subtle blue that doesn't overwhelm (I had always been distracted by the more overbearing Roquefort, but the D'Ambert might have replaced it in my heart).

[AlexBlokhuis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extensive, complete and nuanced.
An insightful perspective on the 45 AOP cheeses in France.
I hope Bouchait continues writing, there are still >100 european AOP cheeses that await an equally detailed treatment.