say CHEESE! ~Blog Post #3~ April 20, 2015 by Sarah Koesser

If you’re a cheese lover just as I am France will soon become your favorite destination. The cheese course is a sacred tradition in French cuisine. Foods may vary throughout France due to the many regions known for their own unique flavors. In these regions the climates and geography make up the different types of agriculture which affect the particular taste and textures of foods and cheeses especially. No matter where you are in France I am sure you will find cheese to be a very popular item despite the many different kinds. French cheeses can be divided up into three different families; pressed cheeses, soft cheeses, and blue cheeses. All of the pressed cheeses are made from cow’s milk and come in large units where merchants will cut off slices which can be kept for a very long time. There are hundreds of different types of soft cheeses including Brie, Munster, and Camembert. Blue cheeses tend to have more salt and sharp flavors due to the types of mold and bacteria encouraged to grow on the cheese. Cheese plays such a large role in French culture that its has its own course during meals, it is served after the entree and before dessert. France has also come to be recongnized as the Mother Land of wine which can date back to the 6th century BC. Cheese and wine are paired together and a considered central elements of French food and diet. When pairing, it is most popular to choose complimentary wine and cheese from the same region. There are many other rules and strategies when it come to pairing foods, the art of food and wine pairing has grown to be far more sophisticated over the years.