Behind the French Menu

Coulommiers Cheese. If You Want a Great Brie That Costs Less Try the Petit Brie de Coulommiers

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Behind the French Menu
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Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Coulommiers’ cheese.

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Coulommiers’ cheese is a creamy, 25% fat cheese with some farm-made versions made with unpasteurized milk. When ripe, like the best Bries Coulommiers is spreadable and has an ivory grey pate and a naturally wrinkled white rind. The cheese, depending on the milk used, is aged for five to eight weeks before being sold when it will have the light nutty taste of the best brie’s. The cheese is sold in 500 gram (18 oz) wooden boxes,

The Coulommiers’ thin wooden box may make you think of a large Camembert; however, the cheese tastes like a brie and the boxes are all clearly marked with the cheese’s name.

Coulommiers, the town that gave the cheese its name is a pretty, small, floral, typical French town with a long history. Even today it has less than 15,000 residents and retains much of its Middle Ages architecture along with the obligatory narrow streets

The town of Coulommiers and its Cathedral.

The cheese is also called the Petit Brie of Coulommiers as its taste is very close to that of France’s Brie de Meaux AOP and Brie de Melun Brie AOP cheeses which are produced in a similar manner in the same region. Despite its lack of an AOC/AOP the Coulommiers farmers and dairies are very highly rated.

Taking a whole Brie de Meaux home is not option with EasyJet or most other airlines. A Brie de Meaux weighs 2.70 kilos (6lbs), and its diameter is similar to that of a large pizza, approximately 36 cm (14 “) across. A whole Brie de Melun is smaller but still weighs 1.7 kilos (3.75 lbs). When you take home cut wedges of Brie, Camembert or other ripe semi-soft cheeses they need to be eaten within a week of arriving. Cut wedges of semi-soft cheeses never improve in the refrigerator, and quickly begin to lose flavor.

Coulommiers, the only cheese on the cheese plate.

Photograph courtesy of Trip Advisor

A whole Coulommiers weighs 500 grams (1.1lbs) but still cannot be taken on a plane as a carry on. Gels, creams, and pastes over 100 grams ( 3.50 oz) must be placed in the checked baggage When you go get home, within 24 hours or so, of starting your return journey a whole Coulommiers will keep well for a month in a wine cooler or cold cellar. Never freeze cheese.

Caveat Emptor, taking home an unpasteurized Coulommiers presents no problems with the UK customs, but the USA does not permit unpasteurized cheeses that have not been aged for at least sixty days. For the USA buy a pasteurized Coulommiers cheese, one that says pasteurized on the box. Like other excellent cheeses made in pasteurized and unpasteurized versions, only the real gastronomes can tell the difference outside of a blind tasting so worry not

A ripe Coulommiers

Photograph courtesy of Frédéric BISSON

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Coulommiers cheese may not be well-known outside of France, but inside France, it is one of top ten of cheeses sold locally. Every supermarket and cheese shop sells this popular cheese. Unfortunately, not all Coulommiers.are equal, and you have to look where the cheese is made as copies may be made anywhere in France and are legally sold with the name Coulommiers.

France’s two AOP brie cheeses and Coulommiers cheese comes from the old French province called Brie Française; now part of the department of Seine-et-Marne. The town of Coulommiers is just 60 km (37 miles) from Paris, 28 km (17 miles) from Meaux and 50 km (31 miles) from Melun. The recipe for these two great Bries and the Coulommiers cheese, according to those who study these matters, is the same.

Is Coulommiers a brie.

With so many copies of this cheese being made in other areas of France the cheesemakers of Coulommiers have requested a Pan-European AOP. They may not get the AOP they want, but they certainly are entitled to a PGI. However, they have not given up and with such an excellent cheese they are fighting for their AOP label. In 1980 the brie cheeses of Meaux and Melun received their AOC gradings, and I believe at the time the cheesemakers of Coulommiers must have been sleeping on their watch.

Coulommiers cheese made with unpasteurized milk.

Photograph courtesy of Reflets de France.

Buy the Coulommiers that you are going to take home in cheese shop that can vacuum pack it for travel and, ask for a cheese that will be ready in five to ten days. To buy cheese in France along with suggestions for taking cheese home and keeping an imported cheese at home see the link: Buying Cheese in France. Bringing French Cheese Home. A Cheese Lexicon for France.

When visiting you will see above the town a relatively well-preserved castle of the Knights Templar that was built in the 12th century; shades of the DaVinci Code. Within the town, the office of the French Ministry of Tourism provides walking routes across the bridges crossing the Grand Marin River and three canals that are part of the town. When looking up Coulommiers on a map or on the web do not confuse it with the town called Coulommiers-la-Tour, that town is over 130 km (81 miles) away in the region of the Centre-Val de Loire

For those of you who enjoy the spirit of France's local culinary fetes consider visiting the Foire Internationale aux Fromages et aux Vins de Coulommiers, The International Fair of Cheeses and Wines from Coulommiers. The dates of this fair change every year between March and April, but the French Government Tourism Office can advise you of the exact dates of the next fair. The exhibits include sheep and goat cheeses along with locally produced butter, honey and beer. For immediate consumption are locally made bread, cakes, sausages, pates, and many other goodies. There are not too many wines produced close to Coulommiers, but those that do are exhibited and sold along with wines from slightly farther away.

Exhibiting at the fair.

Photograph courtesy of Fined Dining Lovers

You can order, ahead of time, places for their celebratory dinner and dance. Expect a few speeches in French, and, of course, the cheese plate towards the end of the meal will only be their own Coulommiers cheese.

The Confrerie des Amis du Brie de Meaux,

The brother and sisterhood of the friends of the Brie de Meaux, visit the Coulommiers fair.

Are they checking on the competition?

Part of the fair is for the local farmers who can meet, discuss and show their lambs, beef and milk cattle as well as working horses that are unique breeds. Seeing a genuine farmers' meeting and market can be an enjoyable change to regular tourist routines so check the times and dates.

Stables in Coulommiers

Photograph by courtesy of Loger Mon Cheval.

Below is the French language website of the Coulommiers fair and it can easily be understood in English using the Bing or Google translate apps.

https://foire-fromages-et-vins.com/

Connected Posts:

Buying Cheese in France. Bringing French Cheese Home and a Lexicon for buying French Cheese.

Brie: That Wonderful French cheese.

Camembert Cheese; France's most Famous Cow's Milk Cheese.

Confréries – The Brother and Sisterhoods that Promote and Defend the Foods and Wines of France.

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Searching for the Perfect Baguette? The Perfect Baguette is a Baguette de Tradition Française.

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Baguettes de Tradition

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The traditional baguette

The traditional French baguette is made without preservatives or any other additions. It is much more than a long, thin, tasty, loaf of bread, even though it is only pure wheat flour, water and salt. Once you have tasted a traditional French baguette then going back to a French supermarket for a baguette made with frozen dough will not be easy.

N.B. Many up-market supermarkets do offer artisanal baguettes made with a wide variety of flours; these baguettes come from local boulangeries that are brought in to make sure the supermarket’s customers need not go anywhere else.

Pick up a baguette on the way to the cash register.

Photograph courtesy of Wicker Paradise

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A baguette is what most visitors to France mean when they ask for French bread, and that it certainly is. For many French citizens, especially Parisians, breakfast without a baguette is hardly breakfast. A standard baguette is almost 70 cms long and weighs 250 grams; croissants are saved for the weekend,

Carrying home a fresh baguette. `

Photograph courtesy of Peter Dutton

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However, baguettes may not be on every French family’s breakfast table. Baguettes and other thin breads like the ficelle, do not keep well. These thin breads will be fresh for just a few hours. A large loaf like the pain boule, which was until the arrival of the baguette, considered "the French bread" will last for two or three days. Furthermore, the baguette is considered a Parisian bread and a local bread will automatically be preferred in some regions. Nevertheless, nearly all French hotels offer overseas visitors a baguette for breakfast. (For more about breakfast in France click here).

Pain boule – the traditional round loaf.

Photograph courtesy of Frédéric BISSON

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Until a few years ago if you got up early you would see people standing in line for baguettes and other breads outside a local boulangerie, a bakery. That still happens, but today there are less and less corner bakeries and many families have to buy their bread the night before. Buying bread the night before, especially a thin baguette means the bread is not 100% fresh in the morning. For more about other French breads click here.

Part of a perfect breakfast.

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The recipe for a baguette de tradition

Baguettes in the supermarket and chain bakeries are baked on the premises from pre-shaped frozen dough. Traditional French baguettes, despite their higher prices, are produced by privately owned boulangeries who have very demanding customers.

A baguette de tradition is made with pure wheat flour, water and salt, and no additives at all. A baguette de tradition must be baked on the day it is sold and the dough cannot have been frozen. The bakers order their flour from mills they know personally and consider the water used in the bakery to be crucial. Along with the ingredients noted above goes the baker’s proprietary "chef", the starter, that is the yeast culture. There are bakers who have the same chef for many years, some for over thirty years. From year to year their "chef", their own yeast starter, and their source of water will keep their customers' returning for their baguettes’ unique taste.

Baguettes ready for the oven

Photograph by courtesy of Emmanuel Ménétrier

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Natural yeasts used by these bakers provide that je ne sais quoi found in traditional baguettes. When bakers look for natural yeasts they wait until they find the one that provides the difference. Yeasts are floating all around us and traditional bakers look for natural yeasts in fields, vineyards and elsewhere, they do not buy commercial yeasts. They check the results of their yeasts in trial runs of their bread again and again; they cannot let a new yeast become their chef unless they are 101% sure that it is right for their bread. Even so, regular customers will notice the change/

Bread baking competitions.

In the larger towns and cities of France, there are competitions for the best baguette de tradition, as well as other breads; these are competitions for professional bakers. The French Government Tourist Office can advise you when different cities have their bread and other baking competitions; they will tell you who are the organizers, and which competitions welcome outside visitors.

The annual Paris competition for baguettes de tradition.

The annual Paris competition for baguettes de tradition is organized by the Chambre Professionnelle des Artisans Boulangers Pâtissiers de Paris, the Chamber of the Bakers and Pastry-cooks of Paris. This chamber is a relatively new organization that was founded in 1801. From the date alone, you may be sure that they know what they are doing and they take their competitions very seriously.

Bread in the boulangerie.

Photograph by courtesy of Frédérique PANASSAC

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The Parisian baguette competition is called the Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Française de la Ville de Paris; the winner is granted the title of Master de la Baguette Parisienne, the Master of the Parisian Baguette and supplies the French President with bread for a whole year

If you have access to a French speaker call the Chambre Professionnelle des Artisans Boulangers Pâtissiers de Paris at Tél: 01.43.25.58.58 or send a Fax to: 01.43.29.65.49. Ask for the dates of this year’s competition so you can attend or find the winner and runner’s up of last year’s competition so you try their baguettes.

The Paris Tourist Information Office will, with difficulty also provide the dates for the next competition

https://en.parisinfo.com/

The same organizers have a competition for the best croissant. In all these competitions it is other professionals who judge the winning bread and pastries. These competitions are the real thing; they are all blind tastings held in the presence of the competitors

The world’s most important baking competition

The world’s most important baking competition is the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie, the World Cup of Pastry competition held in the city of Lyon, France. For more information click or copy paste on this English language website.

http://www.cmpatisserie.com/

This World Cup is held bi-annually in the city of Lyon and visitors may also attend. You may order tickets on the web but order early as the number of tickets for non-professionals are limited.

N.B. On a French menu, the word baguette may also be used to describe other stick shaped foods, usually short, thin, sticks of fried or baked vegetables.

For more about nearly all the French breads click on this link:

Bread - The Different Types of French Bread and a Glossary for Buying French Bread. Bread in French is Pain Pronounced Pan).

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

--------------------------------

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases

French menus?

you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas), and search with Google, Bing, or another browser. Behind the French Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

Connected Posts:

Bread - The Different Types of French Bread and a Glossary for Buying French Bread. Bread in French is Pain Pronounced Pan).

Breakfast in France and the French Breakfast Menu. Ordering Breakfast in France.

Farine - Flour. The flour in your French bread, crepes, and other delights.

French Bread: The types of French Bread and a Lexicon for Buying French Bread

The Croissant. and its History. The Croissant is France's Most Famous Pastry, but its Origins Come From Outside France.