French Culture

Introduction to French Cheeses

“La France, le pays du fromage”

There are over 500 varieties of cheese in France. Cheese is as important to French people as wine is, and each region has its own varieties of cheese. A typical French meal includes a selection of cheeses after a main course, accompanied by French bread and a glass of wine!

Types of French Cheese

There are three main different types of French cheese:

“fromages au lait de vache”, cow milk cheeses
“fromages au lait de chèvre”, goat milk cheeses
“fromage au lait de brebis”, ewe milk cheeses

There is also a wide variety of cheese textures and tastes among which are:

“fromage à pâte molle”; soft cheese: Soft cheese can be “à croûte naturelle”; with natural rind, “à croûte lavée”; with washed rind or “à croûte fleurie”; with surface moulds. Here are a few examples of French soft cheeses:
Brie de Meaux, Camembert de Normandie (surface mould), Carré Breton, Rouy (washed rinds), Crottin de Chavignol, Tomme de Provence (natural rinds)
“fromage frais”; fresh cheese: boursin, chavroux
“fromage à pâte pressée non cuite”; pressed unheated cheese: Cantal, Chaussée aux Moines
“fromage à pâte pressée cuite”; pressed heated cheese: Beaufort, Comté
“fromage fondu”; processed cheese: Marbleu, Six de Savoie
“fromage à pâte persillée”; blue cheese: Roquefort, Bleu d’Auvergne

Cheeses and Wine Combinations

Here is a selection of French cheeses which should be tasted while you are in France and a selection of wines to try them with:

Tomme de Savoie: Tomme de Savoie is made in the « Rhone Alpes » region (South-east). It is a low-fat unheated cow cheese which may be accompanied with a medium-bodied Côtes du Rhône.
Brie: Brie is made in Île-de-France (near Paris), it is a very popular soft cow cheese which you should try with a glass of red Bordeaux.
Camembert de Normandie: This extremely popular soft cow cheese is a produce of Normandie (north-west). Like Brie, it may be accompanied by a glass of red Bordeaux
Roquefort: This is a produce of Auvergne (centre) and it is made with ewe milk. Try it with a sweet wine such as Muscat.
Crottin de chavignol: From the « Loire » region (north-west), it is a delicious goat cheese which you will enjoy tasting with a white wine from the Loire region such as Sancerre.

Note: When buying cheese, look for the AOC label (Appellation d’origine contrôlée). This label guarantees the origin of a product and its authenticity.