A 700 gram Maroilles AOP
The Maroilles AOP may also be
called the Maroilles Gris de Lille.
Photograph courtesy
of Foquet. Qui Veut du Fromage
The Maroilles
Cheese.
The
Maroilles AOP cheese is a flavorsome, ivory colored, 28.5% fat, cow’s milk cheese,
made with unpasteurized milk on farms and with pasteurized milk in
dairies. Maroilles is easily identified
by its orange to deep orange-red rind and its very strong smell! Luckily, for us cheese lovers the taste is
nothing like the aroma; it has a slightly sweet taste along with a creamy
texture. If the cheese tastes even a little like it smells send it back!
The maturing cheese
Most Maroilles cheeses are matured from
five - weeks to four months, and all the time that the cheese is maturing, it
is washed in brine. Some smaller cheeses
are matured for shorter periods. As the cheese ages, the rind changes from
light yellow to orange and then to orange-red, the cheese itself is ivory. When
the cheese is young, it may be used in cooked dishes, but a young cheese will
not add much to a cheese plate. Buy a mature cheese. The rind of a mature Maroilles
cheese is edible, but it has little to add to the taste of the cheese.
The sizes of the Maroilles cheese.
The
Maroilles is sold in square blocks, with the most dairy produced cheeses coming
in square shapes and weighing 700 grams;
the dairies produce 90% of the cheese on the market. From farms come cheeses
weighing 700 grams, and they and the dairies produce three other sizes.
The Maroilles
Sorbais. A 3/4 size cheese that weighs
approximately 550 grams and is matured for at least four weeks.
The Maroilles Mignon. A 1/2 size cheese that weighs
approximately 350 grams and matured for at least three weeks.
The Maroilles Quart. A 1/4 size cheese that weighs approximately 180 grams and matured for at least two weeks.
A wedge of Maroilles
www.flickr.com/photos/vialbost/5001192295/
The Maroilles cheese’s
origins.
According to tradition, that has a history to support it, this
cheese, or its forbear, was created by a monk in Abbaye de Maroilles, the Abbey
of Maroilles, over 1,000 years ago. The
monks, in the days long before refrigeration, created cheeses to save surplus milk,
and, probably, more than half of the cheeses of France have histories linked to
religious orders. The Abbey of Maroilles was destroyed during the French
revolution; however, the cheese continues to be made on farms and in larger
dairies in the old Thiérache and Avenois provinces of Northern France. These
ancient provinces are today parts of the departments of Aisne and Nord that,
since 1-1-2016, have been part of the super
region of Hauts-de-France. The village of Maroilles is in the department of
Nord and borders Belgium
Cheeses made in a manner
similar to the Maroilles AOP.
When the French find a great tasting cheese, they do not leave it
alone; the recipe of the Maroilles has proven successful, and in local
restaurants and cheese shops, you will be offered at least two or three choices
from the Maroilles family.
Boulette d'Avesnes
Well-known cheeses in the Maroilles family include the Boulette
d'Avesnes, a cone-shaped cheese made with added parsley chervil and tarragon;
the Vieux Lille a cheese made exactly like Maroilles, but soaked for three
months in brine and aged from 5-6 months, and the Abbaye de Troisvaux cheese
which is washed with beer. At least another eight kinds of cheese are connected
to the Maroilles, and to taste them all will need time and planning.
Visiting the beautiful village of Maroilles and buying
their cheese.
The village of Maroilles
The
village of Maroilles is one of the most beautiful villages in France with just
under 1,500 inhabitants. Since this is
the cheese’s home try the cheese in a cheese shop or if you are dining in a
local restaurant make sure it is on their cheese plate before your sit down!
Maroilles and its surroundings has a large number of good restaurants that
offer many local dishes you will only find in the north of France. If you do buy a cheese, or part of one, to
take home, make sure that it is vacuum packed or security may have the cheese
removed for its smell. At home, keep the cheese in the refrigerator, not the
freezer, in plastic wrap in a separate plastic container, and then you may
enjoy it for a month or more. Take it out of the refrigerator one hour
before serving, Whether you are dining or walking
around this beautiful village try their excellent local cider. As a cider fan,
I confirm that it has much to recommend it.
For more about French ciders see the link at the end of this post.
The Maroilles residents are busy all year
round.
Here are a few dates from the Maroilles
diary:
The first Sunday in April:
The L'Enfer Vert mountain bike competition.
L'Enfer Vert, the Green Hell mountain biking
competition has over 4,000 participants every year, and there are other biking
competitions during the year. All information is available on the local bike
club's French-language website at http://enfervert.pagesperso-orange.fr/.
with the Google and Microsoft translate apps everything is clear.
May 1:
The Maroilles, 20 km cross-country competition.
The
Maroille 20 km cross-country running competition, the 20 km de
Maroilles. The 4,000 plus runners run through the village and the farmland
around. At the same time, there is a 20km handicapped race and for those who
prefer a slower pace there is a 10 km hike. Information at the French language
website: http://www.20km-maroilles.com/
Join the Maroilles 20 km (12
miles) cross-country competition.
The Third Sunday in June:
The Brocante de
Maroilles is the most famous of all Maroilles happenings. The Brocante de Maroilles is a gigantic
antique/flea market with over 600 exhibitors that takes up 6,000 meters of
sidewalk space. There are always tens of thousands of visitors looking for
unique and special purchases so check the website for parking places.
In conjunction with
the Brocante de Maroilles, there is the Maroilles Crafts and Sculpture festival
which takes place inside various village buildings and halls. Information on both happenings may be found at
the French language website: www.maroillesartisanatdart.voila.net
A detail from the Art and Sculpture Festival at
Maroilles.
Photograph courtesy of Olivier Duquesne
www.flickr.com/photos/daffyduke/1168532751/
The second Sunday in August:
The Maroilles Fete de la Flamiche.
The Maroilles Fete de la Flamiche is a food festival
that celebrates the Flamiche, a specialty of this area, which is part of old
Picardy. The Flamiche is now a
traditional gourmet specialty despite being at its most basic a pie that looks
somewhat like a quiche made with cream and leaks. However, flamiches do not
have a single formula, and you will be offered a wide variety of flamiche
creations. The Flamiche may be made with different dough and other added
ingredients, though the leeks and cream will always remain. Locally, of course,
the most popular additional component is the Maroilles cheese.
A slice of a Flamiche
www.flickr.com/photos/thedelicious/4013993896/
To do justice to the Flamiche, its history, its varied
ingredients, and methods of serving it will need a post of its own. The flamiche celebration in Maroilles
includes workshops held by local artists and artisans, held alongside workshops
for children in pottery and other crafts. There are also sales of other local
products and of course the Maroilles cheese.
For more information, go to the French language website
www.federationdesfetesdeterroir.com/ and then click on Maroilles in the column
on the left side. This site has links to many other food happenings in the
area., the most popular additional component is the Maroilles cheese.
For
more information on these and other celebrations in the North of France there
is an English language website at: http://www.tourisme-nord.com/
The Matisse Museum is just 17km, (10
miles) from Maroilles.
For the fans of Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954), just 17km
(10 miles) from Maroilles is Matisse's birthplace. Matisse was born in the small town of Le
Cateau now part of the commune of Le Cateau-Cambrésis; in 1952, Matisse himself
created the original museum now set in the former archbishop's Fénelon Palace.
The museum has 170 works by Matisse, the third largest collection in France,
and there are 65 works donated by another artist born in the area Auguste
Herbin (1882 - 1960). There is also a
part of the Tériade (1889-1983) collection of artists' books along with other
paintings and photographs.
A Matisse at the Musee Departemental Matisse Le Cateau Photograph courtesy of Allie_Caulfield
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Behind the French Menu
by
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behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010, 2014, 2020
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