from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
bryangnewman@gmail.com
A Fromagerie
Photograph courtesy of Kent Goldman
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kentgoldman/3335977501/
The cheese buying lexicon is one-third
of the way down this post
Buying
cheese in France to take home.
When I am flying home from
France, with enough time for a last-minute stop in Paris or another city, I
will go to an excellent French cheese shop; their signs will read Fromagerie
or Crèmerie. These are specialized cheese shops where I can buy cheeses
rarely seen at home.
Soft yellow French cheeses
will be carefully selected, one for the day after my trip and others for
intervals of up to two weeks in winter and a few days in summer. Hard and
semi-hard French cheeses, including two blue cheeses, will be bought after I
have tasted and chosen five or six; at least one will be a new cheese for me,
one that I may consider adding to my regular favorites.
Altogether, I usually buy
seven or eight cheeses; it is better to have more of each than too many. All
the cheeses will be vacuum-packed for traveling, a service that French cheese
shops offer; it is essential for anyone
traveling with soft cheeses and the only way to travel with certain slightly
odorous cheeses.
Cheese
should never be frozen for storage or travel; freezing destroys the taste of a cheese.
Choose
your cheese.
Photograph courtesy of
Rebecca Siegel
www.flickr.com/photos/grongar/7307868606
Where to buy the cheese you take home
Some large French supermarkets have serviced cheese departments with knowledgeable staff behind the counter; however, specialist cheese shops, fromageries, or crèmeries are where you are most likely to find well-trained and English-speaking staff.
A few supermarkets
have special cheese departments like this.
In most fromageries, there is more choice and
sometimes English speaking staff.
Photograph courtesy of m-louis .®
www.flickr.com/photos/m-louis/4438143579
France has nearly 1,000
registered cheeses, and some varieties, like Camembert, may be produced in
dozens of dairies and farms. It can be helpful to have expert advice when
buying French cheese to take home, and on a first visit, you may also require
that advice in English.
Buying cheese can be similar to buying a wine with a name you know but from an unknown winery; in that case, a knowledgeable sales assistant's advice is essential. In specialized cheese shops, the staff knows the cheeses and their producers well; they will explain not only the difference in price but the differences in age and taste.
In most cases, if you appear to be a serious customer and you ask about cheese displayed in large wheels, you may be offered a taste of two seemingly similar varieties. Often, that will include one cheese with an AOP label and another that looks strikingly similar but costs 25% less and lacks the fancy initials.
Aging Gruyere
Cheeses.
Photograph courtesy of Simon Bonaventure
www.flickr.com/photos/bonaventure/5489976484
Buying fresh white cheeses
Cheese shops sell fresh white
cheeses within 48 hours of production; however, you are advised not to take
these home. To begin with, they do not travel well, and in many countries, the
personal import of fresh soft cheeses is forbidden. As a rule of thumb, soft,
fresh cheeses packed in brine or similar liquids are prohibited imports. Fresh
cheeses are treated like liquids by airlines and limited to 100 grams.
Buying Soft
Yellow Cheeses
Soft yellow cheeses include varieties such as Camembert and Brie. The
farmer or dairy will have matured these cheeses to a stage where a cheese shop
may buy them, though they are not yet fully ready. The shop will then allow the
cheeses to continue maturing in their cool, temperature-controlled cellar until
needed.
In France, specialized cheese stores sell soft yellow cheeses based on
the specific day the customer plans to eat them. Whether you want a cheese for
this evening or one that will be ready in three days, ten days, or even three
weeks—if you request it, that is exactly what you will receive.
Roasted Camembert
on a galette
Bretton with duck breast confit,
walnuts and salad
leaves.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/marsupilami92/55008435632/
The regulations for importing cheeses
Cheeses
made with unpasteurized milk, and that includes many of France's best, are not
allowed into the USA and some other countries unless they have been aged for
more than 60 days (as of 2026). However, for the USA, all is not lost; in the
larger cities, many French cheese shops offer some of the same cheeses made
with pasteurized milk, specifically for export.
·
The
USA allows the entry of all French cheeses
made with pasteurized milk. However, if you are buying a cheese made with
unpasteurized milk, it must meet the 60-day aging requirement for the USA. Make
100% sure that the box or label clearly notes the dates; no clear date or dates,
do not buy unpasteurized cheese. The USA website for travelers' import
regulations is: https://www.cbp.gov/travel
·
The UK regulations changed in April 2025; since Great Britain left the
common market, there are new and strict rules prohibiting the import of most
meat and dairy products for personal use. This applies to France, along with
other EU and most non-EU countries. Prohibited items include cheese, milk,
pork, beef, and sausages, all of which will be seized at the border:
https://www.gov.uk/bringing-goods-into-uk-personal-use
·
For all other countries Google
your country’s website and check all up to date customs rules, and any
countries you may be visiting on the way home.
A baked Coulommiers
Photograph courtesy of Francis Storr
www.flickr.com/photos/fstorr/2142587930/
What cheeses may you take on the plane?
Do not pack any type of soft cheese in your carry-on! Soft cheeses are treated like creams and pastes, with only small quantities allowed in a carry-on. Make sure that the packaging is clearly marked.
How to store your cheese when you get home.
Cheeses that are not entirely ripe and still need a few days to mature will be safe in your checked luggage for 24 to 48 hours and when taken home may be kept in the refrigerator for a few days; there, they will keep but not mature. To mature a cheese, a cool cellar is all that is required; however, since cool cellars are rarely available in apartment blocks, and even homes with basements can have cooling problems in the summer.
Those
with wine refrigerators have an excellent alternative to a cool cellar, and
most soft cheeses will mature at anywhere from 12 – 14 degrees Celsius (53 to
57 degrees Fahrenheit).
In the wine refrigerator, set a small water bowl and refill it from time to time. That is all that is required for maturing cheeses for a period of up to one month. We are not professional cheese makers, but we can still mature cheeses for short periods and enjoy them. (When I have found a place for a wine refrigerator that will not be in our living room or entrance hall, I will buy one.)
In the winter, when the temperature is above freezing, above 11°-15°C (51° - 59°F) then, soft-yellow cheeses will mature on the window ledge. Any cool place that is not freezing or too warm will allow your cheese to evolve and mature slowly over a few days. Cheeses stored in the refrigerator will not mature. If you bought a cheese to be ready a few days after you return home and stored it in the fridge, take the cheese out a few days before serving and allow it to rest and mature in as cool a place as you can find.
The books and
websites will tell you that certain cheeses need specific temperatures and
different degrees of humidity to mature perfectly. However, a degree or two off
the optimum will not matter unless you are planning a professional dairy
project.
French blue cheeses
Photograph courtesy of Jessica
Spengler
www.flickr.com/photos/wordridden/2433047495/
Buying and storing hard or medium to hard cheeses
The
buying and storing of hard or medium-to-hard cheeses are much less demanding
than soft or semi-soft cheeses. Nevertheless, choosing a medium-to-hard cheese
or hard cheese that you wish to take home will benefit from a cheese monger's
experience when you buy. An aged hard cheese will offer a significant
difference in taste, and cost more than the same cheese bought when it was
young and aged for just three months. and the same cheese bought when it had
matured for twelve months or longer. This is where, in most French cheese
shops, you ask you can request a taste of two identically named cheeses with
different ages to make your choice; you may also be offered a similar cheese
with another name but with the same flavor profile. Most French cheese shops
are used to customers asking for slivers of cheese to taste. When you reach
home, these semi-hard and hard cheeses should be wrapped in plastic wrap and
placed in a sealed container. Hard cheese well wrapped will keep well in an
ordinary refrigerator, but never a freezer, for one or two months or longer.
The buying and storing of
hard or medium-to-hard cheeses are much less demanding than those of soft or
semi-soft cheeses. Nevertheless, choosing a medium-to-hard or hard cheese to
take home will benefit from a cheesemonger’s experience.
An aged hard cheese will
offer a significant difference in taste, and cost more, than the same cheese
aged for just three months versus one that has matured for twelve months or
longer. This is where, in most French cheese shops, you can request a taste of
two identically named hard cheeses of different ages to make your choice; you
may also be offered a similar cheese with another name but a similar flavor
profile. Most French cheese shops are
used to customers asking for tastes of slivers of displayed cheeses.
When you reach home, these
semi-hard and hard cheeses should be wrapped in plastic wrap, or special cheese
paper if you have it, and placed in a sealed container. Hard cheese, when well
wrapped, will keep in an ordinary refrigerator (but never a freezer) for one or
two months or longer.
Why
not the freezer?
There’s water in cheese, even in a very hard cheese. That water begins to expand as the cheese cools
below 4°C (39°F), and that destroys the cheese’s cellular structure. By the
time it freezes, the damage is done. As the cells break down, so goes the
cheese’s texture and the taste.
About the cheese lexicon below.
Included in this lexicon are the terms you may see or hear in a French cheese shop, or when a server offers you a selection from a cheese trolley in a restaurant.
I
have only included the terms used for choosing and buying cheese and some
suggestions based on my own experience. With the words in this lexicon, 99% of
all French cheeses may be purchased.
Connected cheese posts
After
the lexicon, there is a list of related posts with a number of popular French
cheeses that give more in-depth detail.
Many
French cheeses are available with more than one type of milk. Even at home, you
can find Camembert and Gouda made with cow's milk or goat's milk on supermarket
shelves. Reading the labels carefully and ask for more information will ensure
your correct personal choice.
The Cheese Lexicon.
Brebis – Sheep's milk cheeses.
Bufflonne – European buffalo's milk cheeses.
Chèvre – Goat’s milk cheeses.
Vache – Cow's milk cheeses.
- Á la Feuille - Cheese sold when wrapped in leaves. (Cheeses,
like Banon, are sold wrapped in chestnut leaves).
- Affiné – The term used for aged cheese. For cheeses, the
affinage, (the aging process), does not mean the cheese was left on its own in
a cold cellar or cave. Maturing cheeses are very well looked after; they are
worried about, turned, patted, washed, dipped, and checked regularly. Some soft
cheeses may be ready for sale in three weeks, while some of the best hard
cheeses may be aged for up to two years; a few unique cheeses may be matured
even longer. (Aged beef is called bœuf maturée).
Aging Comte Cheese from the Jura.Photograph courtesy of Barney Moss
- Alpage (Fromages
d'Alpages ) – Cheese from the
mountain pastures. On a menu or in a fromagerie, an Alpage cheese is not
restricted to the Alps; any cheeses from the milk of cows, sheep, or goats
grazing on hills or mountains may be called Fromages d'Alpages. If the
cheese is not named, it will usually indicate a local farm-made cheese; it can
also be a mass-produced cheese labelled with an enticing name.
- Alpilles - The
limestone hills of Provence. On a menu, the Alpilles may indicate any of
the locally-farmed products that are raised and grown in the limestone hills of
Provence. Sheep and goat farming is important in the Alpilles, and their milk
produces many fine cheeses.
- Assiette de Fromage –
A cheese plate in a restaurant will come with a group of one to four cheeses;
they will have been chosen for you.
The art of the cheese plateA cheese plate in a restaurant that includes three kinds of cheese may provide 10 grams (1/3 oz) of each variety; altogether, that is roughly 30 grams (1 oz).(It is not intended to be a plowman's lunch.)Photograph courtesy of nelson suarez
- Beurre - Butter. Not all butter is the same, and France has
three AOP butters. For more about French butter, click here. French
diners rarely use butter for the cheese course.
So, you may need to ask for butter.
- Blue – Blue.
- Bleuté – Bluish. For example, a cheese described as gris
bleuté has greyish blue streaks of color inside.
- Bleus – Blue cheeses.
- Brebis – An ewe; a female sheep; on your menu, brebis will indicate sheep's cheeses, and France's two most famous sheep's milk cheeses are, of course, Roquefort AOP followed by the Ossau-Iraty AOP
- Buche - A log. Many cheeses, especially goat's cheeses, are
shaped like small logs, so the word buche will often be part of a
log-shaped cheese's name.
- Bufflonne – A European water buffalo. Water buffalo milk, with
its high-fat content and is a favorite for some special cheeses, including the
original Italian mozzarella cheese. Today buffalo milk cheeses are both made in
France and imported from Italy though 90% of all mozzarella is made with cow's
milk. (In Italy the best cow’s milk mozzarella is called fior di latte).
- Burrata – An Italian cheese made from cow's milk, consisting
of a mozzarella shell filled with fresh cream and mozzarella shreds. The Burrata
sold in France is nearly always locally made,
- Caillé - Cheese curds. Curds are part of the cheese-making
process and may be sold as such before they are used to make cheese; curds have
their own followers.
- Camembert – Camembert is included in this lexicon as an
example of a soft cheese that can present import problems. Suppose your
home country's customs website explicitly forbids the import of semi-hard or
soft cheeses made with unpasteurized milk, or those aged for less than 60 days;
in that case, you may need to omit Camembert de Normandie AOP and the
best Bries AOP from your shopping list. Despite that, many French
Camembert and Brie cheeses, as well as other soft cheeses made with pasteurized
milk, are readily available in France.
- Carré - A square; the shape, and the part of the name
for some cheese names.
- Chèvre – Goat's cheeses include many varieties where the taste
and texture change noticeably over time; and to buy correctly, you may need a
professional's advice. Goat’s cheese can be
smooth, mild, and a perfect addition to a salad when matured for only seven to
ten days; however, the same cheese matured for one month will have a completely
different taste and texture, with some having a sharp bite. Matured goat's cheeses include some of France's best
cheeses. To read more about two of France's most famous goat's cheeses, read
the posts on Rocamadour
AOP and the Picodon
AOP Goat's Cheeses. (The First Goat's Cheese to be Awarded
an AOC, later an AOP, was the Pouligny-Saint-Pierre in 1972.)
Choose your goat’s cheese.Photograph courtesy of Marc Kjerlandhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/marckjerland/3956521102/
- Croûte (La) – The rind of
the cheese. Most cheese rinds, though not all, are edible; under the rind is
the pâte, the body of the cheese itself. For some varieties, the edible
rind adds a distinct flavor and texture, while for others, a tough exterior or
an obvious plastic coating warns you that it is not meant to be eaten.
- Crème Double
– Double-cream cheeses are those containing 30% or more fat in the total weight
of the finished product (using the French calculation standards established in
2007). For more information regarding how fat content is labeled in France, see
the entry for Matière Grasse in this lexicon.
- Crème
Fraîche - Crème fraiche has a
creamy texture, and while it is not at all like sour cream or yogurt then
neither is it a sweet cream.
- Crème Triple
– Triple-cream cheeses are those with more than 38% fat in the total weight of
the finished product. For more information regarding how fat content is labeled
in France, see the entry for Matière Grasse in this lexicon.
- Crémerie - Traditionally, this was a
shop that sold all dairy products, including milk, butter, eggs, and fresh
creams, in addition to a limited selection of cheeses. Today, there is little,
if any, difference between a crémerie and a fromagerie.
- Dégustation – A tasting. Cheese shops may advertise a
tasting; that doesn't mean they are free. Ask.
- Déclinaison de
Fromages – A selection
of cheeses; this may include three or four cheeses served on a platter or a
choice from a cheese tray or trolley.
- Double-crème - See Crème Double.
- Doux – Mild, usually used for a young cheese and the
opposite is vieux meaning aged
and mature, (The direct opposite of doux in terms of flavor intensity is
fort, meaning strong and often pungent with piquant meaning sharp or
spicy.
- This is used specifically for cheeses that have a "sting" or "bite" on the tongue.
- Eau-de-vie - Fruit brandy. Many
French cheeses are washed with a young fruit or wine brandy while they mature.
Alcohol keeps mold away and certain brandies, including grapes and other
fruits, are chosen for the slight taste or aroma they may add to the
cheese.
- Entre Deux – A term used for the three-to-six-month maturity of the Cantal and Salers cheeses from the Auvergne and Laguiole from the department of Aveyron in Occitanie. It indicates the flavor profile that has moved beyond the Jeune (young) stage but hasn't yet reached the intensity of Vieux (old) cheeses.
- Faisselle - A perforated draining mold used for soft
cheeses. Also, the name, or part of the name, for some soft white
cheeses.
- Fait - A well-aged cheese.
- Farandole de
Fromage – The cheese
trolley in a restaurant. The trolley may also be called a Chariot or Guéridon.
- Fermier – A farmer. A fromage fermier is a
farm-made cheese.
- Feuilles - Leaves. Cheeses sold á la feuille are
wrapped in leaves
- Fior di Latte – A cow’s milk mozarella type cheese.
- Fourme – The mold or form in which some cheeses are made. Fourme
is also part of the name of several French cheeses. An example is the Fourme
d'Ambert AOP, a
light-tasting blue cheese from the town of Ambert in the Auvergne.
- Fort – A strong-tasting and strong-smelling cheese.
- Frais or Fraiche - Fresh.
- Fromage á la
Feuille - Cheese sold
when wrapped in leaves.
- Fromage à Pâte
Demi dure or Fromage à Pâte Mi-dure - A
semi-hard cheese. This category describes cheeses that
have a firm but pliable texture, similar to a young Cantal
or a Morbier.
These cheeses are easy to slice and often chosen for melting or for sandwiches.
They belong to the broader group known as Pâte Pressée Non Cuite
(pressed but not cooked); such as Comté,
which are aged longer and have a harder texture.
- Fromage à Pâte Dure – A very hard cheese; hard like a Parmesan.
- Fromage à Pâte
Molle – A description for soft,
yellow, soft-centered cheeses like Camembert and Brie.
Fromages à Pâte MollePhotograph courtesy of Marc Kjerland
- Fromage à Pâte Pressée Cuite – These are hard cheeses (pressed and cooked) such as French Gruyère IGP, Comté AOP, and Abondance AOP.
- Fromage à Pâte
Pressée Non Cuite – A pressed,
but not cooked cheeses including those called Fromage à Pâte Demi dure or
Fromage à Pâte Mi-dure. The
description of the way a particular cheese is made.
- Fromage à Pâte
Persillée – Blue-veined
cheeses. Many of the blue-veined cheeses
from the region of Savoie, Savoy in the Rhône-Alps, have the word persillé in
their name like the Persillé des Aravis. Famous blue-veined cheeses
include the cow’s milk Bleu d’Auvergne AOP from the Auvergne and the sheep’s milk
cheese Roquefort AOP from the Midi Pyrénées department in Occitanie.
- Fromage à Pâte
Pressée Cuite – These are
hard cheeses such as French Gruyère IGP, Comté AOP, and Abondance AOP. These cheeses go through a relatively robust cooking
process followed by pressing.
- Fromage à Pâte
Pressée Non-Cuite – A pressed
but not cooked cheese; description of how a particular cheese is made. Cheeses
prepared in this manner include the cow's milk Saint-Nectaire AOP from the Auvergne and the sheep's milk cheese
the Ossau-Iraty AOP from the Ossau valley near Béarn and the Iraty
valley in France's Basque country.
- Fromage Affiné – An aged or matured cheese.
- Fromage au Choix – Your choice of cheeses.
- Fromage au Lait
Biologique – Cheese made
with organically produced milk. These cheeses must have a label clearly showing
the mark AB, the initials for France's government-supervised, trusted,
and approved green organic farm products; Agriculture Biologique.
- Fromage au Lait Cru
– Cheese made with unpasteurized (raw) milk.
Many of France’s most well-known cheeses are produced exclusively with raw
milk; however, some countries, such as the USA, only permit the import of
raw-milk cheeses that have been aged for over 60 days. Consequently, the number
of producers offering pasteurized versions has increased. This shift occurs
despite French raw-milk cheeses being internationally recognized for their
exceptional health standards. The absence of health issues related to these
cheeses demonstrates the high standards of cleanliness, inspection, and control
regarding the herds and their milk.
- Fromage au Lait Entier – Cow's milk cheese made with whole milk. In the European Union, milk must contain at least 3.5% fat to be classified as "full-cream" or "whole" milk.
- Fromages Affinés – On your menu in a restaurant offering properly
aged cheeses. (This may make the menu sound better, but it is unlikely that
immature cheeses would be offered in any case.)
- Fromage Blanc - A name used for many soft white cheeses. Most
of these cheeses are made from skim milk, which has no fat. In a restaurant or
a French home, these cheeses are often served as a dessert, usually with added
fruit, honey, or sugar, as they are somewhat bland on their own.
- If the same cheese is available with goat's or sheep's milk rather than with cows' milk, you will have a tastier cheese. N.B. Soft white cheeses do not travel well, may not be carried as hand luggage on planes, and may not be imported into the USA or UK.
- Fromage Corsé –A cheese with a strong flavor. (It doesn’t mean
spicy).
- Fromage de Brebis – Sheep's cheese.
- Fromage de Chèvre – Goat's cheese.
- Fromage de Vache – A cow's milk cheese.
- Fromage de Tête
- Despite its name, this is not a cheese; it is a traditional, slightly spicy
meat product known in the UK as brawn (and in the US as "head
cheese"). It is a French comfort food frequently found on classic bistro
menus. Like its international counterparts, Fromage de Tête is a rustic,
light spicy terrine made with pork or veal, that uses the less common cuts of
meat; it is set in its own natural gelatin (aspic), to create a flavorful and
popular delicacy.
- Fromage Doux – A mild cheese. (See Doux).
- Fromage du Pays - Local cheeses.
- Fromage
Fermier - A farm made cheese.
- Fromage Frais – A soft, white fresh cheese.
- Fromage
Persillé - See Fromage
à Pâte Persillée.
- Fromage Râpé
- Grated cheese.
- Fromage Fermier– A farm-made
cheese.
- Fromages Frais – Soft, white, fresh cheeses.
- Fromage Gras – A cheese with a high-fat content. The fat in a
cheese will be on the label as a percentage marked Matière Grasse.
- Fromage Jeune – A young cheese. The term is generally used for
mild cow's milk cheeses that have matured from just one to two months.
- Fromage Maigre - A low-fat cheese with less than 20% fat.
- Fromage Mi- chèvre – A mixed goat's and cow's milk cheese.
- Fromage
Persillé – See Fromages
à Pâte Persillée.
- Fromage Piquant - A sharp or spicy cheese; a cheese with a bite. The
term is often used for goat cheeses that have developed a poivre (peppery) bite.
( The term is also used for certain
spicy blue cheeses, where the interior streaks have a sharp tang.)
- Fromage Râpée - Grated cheese.
- Fromage Vieux - An aged, mature cheese.
- Fromages Frais – Soft, white fresh cheeses.
- Fromager - A cheese maker.
- Fromagerie - A cheese shop, often the same as a Crémerie.
- Lait
Cru - Unpasteurized
milk.
- Lait de Mélange - Cheeses made from a mixture of milk. This can be mixed cow's, goat's, and sheep's milk.
- Lait écrémé - Skimmed milk.
- Louche - The traditional ladle used to put cheese curds into
molds.
- M.G. – On labels for the fat content of a
cheese; see Matière Grasse.
- Maître Fromager - A Cheese Master. The
title Maître Fromager is awarded to those few cheese experts who meet
the stringent criteria and exams of the La Guilde des Fromagers, the
French Guild of Cheesemakers. In France, there are over 1,000 registered
cheeses and hundreds more that are unregistered. A Maître Fromager has
to be a very knowledgeable individual. The responsibility of choosing cheeses,
buying them, and allowing them to mature gracefully is a serious and expensive
business.
- The best French cheese shops are owned, managed, or advised by a certified Maître Fromager. Many restaurants with valuable cheeses on their menu will contract with a Maître Fromager to supervise the purchase and storage of their cheeses, which, together with their affinage (maturation) is a significant investment in time, money and reputation.
- Matières Grasse - Fat. On a cheese package label, the words matières
grasse (M.G.) will be followed by a number indicating the percentage
of fat in a cheese; that is the net weight of the fat content in 100 grams.
- The measuring systems was changed in 2007 to make the fat content of a cheese clear for the consumer. (Before 2007 the fat content was calculated as a percentage of the dried weight and no one dried their cheese to check!)
- When a cheese has over 30% fat it becomes a crème double and when it over 38% fat, it becomes a triple-crème.
- Many visitors to France are
shocked by the high-fat content of many of France's most beloved cheeses.
Despite those numbers, consider, for a moment, how the French eat cheese. A
serving of a cheese course in a restaurant, typically including three different
cheese, may weigh less than 60 grams (2 oz) in total, containing approximately
14 grams of fat. To put this in perspective, a small, lean steak weighing 150
grams (5 oz) contains about 12–15 grams of fat, while a 150-gram ribeye can
exceed 20 grams. (In contrast, a 150-gram chicken breast contains only about 5
grams.)
- In a French home, a cheese course usually consists of only one or two cheeses. By eating cheese as the French do, once or twice a week in portions of less than 60 grams, you can enjoy these high-fat delicacies while hardly making a dent in your total calorie count or daily saturated fat allowance.
- Mi-chèvre - A cheese made with at least 50 percent goat's
milk; usually, the balance will be cow's milk.
- Pâte - The
inside of the cheese, the part inside the rind we eat. The rind (La Croûte),
may also be edible.
- Pâte Persillé - see Fromage à Pâte Persillée
- Pavé - The original meaning is a slab or something that is
paved (a cobble stone or paving stone); it is a solid-sounding word. It will be
on many menus that indicate particular cuts or shapes. Many cheeses made in
flat, square, or oblong shapes use the word pavé as part of their name;
the square cow’s milk cheese Pavé d'Auge from Normandy is one.
- Petit Lait - The whey. The liquid left after the cheese has been
curdled and strained; some low-fat cheeses are made with whey. The most famous
French whey cheese is the Brocciu AOP from Corsica. (Brocciu AOP traditionally
has some whole milk added for taste.)
- Persillé – Part of the name of many blue-streaked cheeses. (See Fromages à Pâte Persillée). (Outside the world of cheese, persillé is a name used
for dishes flavored with persillade, a parsley,
and garlic mixture, and well-marbled beef may be called Boeuf
Persillé.)
- Plateau de Fromage
or Plateau de Fromages Assortis (Le) - A platter or tray of assorted cheeses. This may refer to a pre-selected cheese plate
served as a course or a larger assortment presented at the table from which you
may choose.
- Ronde de Fromages – On your menu, this is the cheese course. Unless
it is a pre-set Assiette de Fromage (a cheese plate with a fixed
selection of usually three varieties), you will likely be presented with a tray
or trolley containing anywhere from six to twenty cheeses. You may choose and
will be served small wedges or slices rather than large chunks. While the
portions may seem modest and the quantity offered may seem small, remember this
is France, and the cheese is served after the main course and before the
dessert; you probably couldn't eat too much cheese anyway.
- In towns, you may see an advertisement for a Ronde de Fromages outside a fromagerie (a cheese shop); this is generally an invitation to a cheese tasting, possibly accompanied by one or two wines. NB: An invitation to a cheese tasting in a commercial establishment does not usually mean it is without charge. In French cheese shops, tastings usually focus on similar cheeses or varieties from a particular area; rarely will you see a tasting with a wide range of cheeses from all over France.
- Tome – Tome
and Tomme cheeses are the same; Tome is an older and regional
spelling.
- Tomme –
All tomes and tommes are skimmed-milk cheeses, which means they are
relatively low in fat. There are many tomme (tome) cheeses and,
while remaining skimmed-milk cheeses, many have very different tastes and
textures. Tommes fermières are farm-made cheeses, and unless you know
the farm or a fromagerie that sells this specific farm's product, you may have
trouble buying that same cheese again unless it is sold nationally. All tommes
were originally side products in the manufacture of butter; the farmers saw
their incomes increase when they began making skimmed-milk cheeses. Now, many
of these farmers spend more time making cheese than selling milk or making
butter.
- Triple crème -Triple cream cheeses. (See Crème Triple).
- Vache - A cow.
- Vieux or Vieille - Old. A description mainly used for cow's milk cheeses matured from six to twenty-four months. For example: A Vieux Cantal AOP must be aged for at least 8 months.
Connected Cheese Posts"
Murol, Murol du Grand Bérioux, and Murolair.
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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
bryangnewman@gmail.com
Copyright 2010, 2014, 2016, 2022, 2025
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France is widely known on different cheese that they produce not just for business purposes but for the foods that they cook. They are really one of the best food producers.
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