Cheese Fest

Archive for January, 2017

Fourme d’Ambert

Fourme d’Ambert is one of the oldest known cheeses, dating back to the Roman occupation of France, around 2,000 years ago. The recipe, that is, not the actual cheese which is normally only aged for a month or two.

Traditionally made in a cylindrical “fourme” (French Auvergnat dialect for mould) about 5½” (13cm) diameter and 7½” (19cm) tall, the wheel is unusually tall for its diameter. Usually, it is sold in slices across the wheel rather than wedges.

Soft and yielding, almost spreadable, dusted in a white/grey mould. The pate is off white to dark cream (depending upon age) and flecked with greenish blue. It’s a delightfully appealing cheese from the offset.

The smell is slight, almost non-existent. The texture is deliciously smooth and creamy, yielding pleasantly in the mouth. The flavour likewise is smooth and creamy, delicate with hints of blue. It could be described as similar to a very mellow Roquefort, not so sharp and a lot less salty.

It is a generally pleasant cheese, inoffensive and well behaved. A perfect blue addition to the cheeseboard when you might not want to overwhelm your guests.

Easily available from many supermarkets.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia, 2011.

(4/5)

Délice des Crémiers

Rich, tangy, salty, triple cream decadence. A cheese to seriously clog the arteries.

A small round soft cheese with a powdery white dusting of mould, sometimes presented in a simple round wood veneer box.

The rind smells sharp gathering hints of ammonia as it ages. The pate, soft with an ice cream like texture has the slight acidic smell of sour milk. As it ages the pate closest to the rind becomes soft and gooey separating the rind from the cheese within..

The soft pate melts in the mouth with an instant hit of a sharp, salty, but delicate flavour of sour milk. The flavour quickly fades yielding a softer and pleasing palate that must be savoured.

As it ages, the cheese becomes sharper and more acid, introducing a burn similar to blue cheeses.

All in all a very pleasant cheese, oozing decadence and luxury.

Reviewed by Nick & Olympia, 2012

(4/5)