LES FROMAGES
“Un dessert sans fromage est une belle à qu’il manque un oeil.”
—Brillat-Savarin.*
The word fromage (cheese) derives from the Greek formos, which were wicker baskets used to drain cheese. Cheese was known to the Sumerians in 4000 BC, the ancient Egyptians and the Chaldeans. Cheese was mentioned in the Bible. When the Romans came to Gaul, Cantal cheese was already being produced in the Auvergne. There are several thousand types of cheese made in the world today, and more than five hundred are made in France.
Cheese may be fermented or fresh. There are two kinds of fermented cheese: the soft cheese such as Brie, Livarot, and Camembert; and the hard cheeses such as Cantal or Roquefort. Some cheeses, such as Emmental, Gruyère, and Port Salut are made with scalded curds.
Cheese is widely used in French cooking. It is made into various dips and spreads such as la cervelle de canut of the Lyonnais, or bibbelkäse of Alsace. Cheese is made into fritters, croquettes, soufflés, flans, and all kinds of pastries and turnovers. Various cheese fondues are made, especially in Savoie, Franche Comté, and the Auvergne, with white wine, milk, or even water. Sometimes whole eggs or egg yolks are included.
Fromage blanc appears in many French recipes. It is an unsalted, fresh cheese that is similar to a fairly liquid curd cheese. Sometimes ‘fromage blanc’ needs to be well drained before it is used in cooking, in which case it will be closer to the consistency of curd cheese. Cream cheese is not a suitable substitute as it tends to separate in cooking.
Cheese plays an important part in the French meal. It appears after the main course and before the dessert—sometimes instead of the dessert. It is usually served with wine, but in some parts of northern France it may be served with beer, cider, or Calvados. In Mâcon, in Burgundy, cheese was once served with every meal. Sometimes it was the whole meal—with, of course, some bread and wine. It should be remembered that in France, as Raymond Oliver wrote in The French at Table, “the person who chooses and buys his own bread, wine and cheese, however humble his social status, is behaving like a true gastronome.”
Lyonnais
LA CERVELLE DE CANUT
(La cervelle de canut)
La cervelle de canut (literally, “silk weaver’s brains”) is a simple cheese spread flavored with herbs that was a favorite snack of the silk weavers of Lyon in the nineteenth century. It was also called claqueret, which derives from claquer (to beat). Serve it with slices of whole-wheat bread or with potatoes baked in their jackets.
¾
pound white farmer’s cheese
½
cup light cream
2
shallots, finely chopped
1
tbsp. fresh chives, chopped
1
tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
1
tbsp. fresh tarragon, chopped
1
tbsp. olive oil
2
tsp. wine vinegar
salt
freshly ground black pepper
In a mixing bowl beat the farmer’s cheese with the cream until it is very smooth. Stir in the shallots, herbs, olive oil, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving. Serves 6.
Savoie, Dauphiné
OLD-FASHIONED CHEESE FONDUE
(Fondue du siecle dernier)
Cheese fondue—the well-known dish of cheese melted in wine—was hardly known in France before the Second World War. Before then “fondue” was usually made with milk, like the Italian fonduta, or with eggs and cream, like this adaptation of a nineteenthcentury recipe from Savoy.
3
eggs
1
cup light cream
2
tbsp. milk
1
cup (4 oz.) Comté or Gruyère cheese, thinly sliced
a grating of nutmeg
pinch of salt
pinch of white pepper
2
tbsp. butter
4
slices whole-wheat toast, cut into fingers
Beat the eggs, cream, and flour together in a bowl. Add the cheese, and season with nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Melt the butter in a heavy pan and pour in the egg mixture. Cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is thickened and very smooth and creamy. Serve at once with fingers of whole-wheat toast. Serves 4.
Franche Comté
COMTÉ CHEESE CROQUETTES
(Croquettes de Comté)
If Comté cheese is unavailable Gruyère cheese may be used instead.
½
pound Comté cheese
whole-wheat flour seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper
2
eggs, beaten
whole-wheat breadcrumbs
oil for deep-frying
Remove the rind from the Comté cheese and cut into ½-inch cubes. Dust all over with the seasoned flour, then dip a few at a time into the beaten egg. Roll in breadcrumbs and fry in hot (360° F.) oil until golden on both sides. Drain on a paper towel and serve at once. Serves 4.
Franche Comté
CHEESE MERINGUES
(Délicieuses au fromage)
Délicieuses are not literally meringues, but very light deep-fried cheese fritters.
3
egg whites
salt
1½
cups (6 oz.) Comté or Gruyère cheese, grated
pinch of cayenne pepper
whole-wheat breadcrumbs for dusting
oil for deep frying
Beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff. Gradually fold in the grated cheese and the cayenne pepper. Drop by small spoonfuls into hot (360° F.) and fry until golden all over. Drain on a paper towel and serve at once. Serves 3.
Paris, Ile-de-France
BREAD AND CHEESE PUDDING
(Pain perdu au fromage)
Pain perdu is usually a breakfast or dessert dish. This recipe, however, is a kind of savory bread and butter pudding.
2¼
cups milk
3
eggs
a grating of nutmeg
salt
freshly ground black pepper
4
tbsp. butter
7
slices (7 oz.) silced whole-wheat bread
1
cup (4 oz.) Gruyère cheese, grated
Bring the milk to just below the simmer and set aside to cool slightly.
Beat the eggs together in a large bowl and slowly add the warm milk. Season with nutmeg, salt, and black pepper to taste. Butter the slices of bread and arrange in the bottom of a well-buttered, shallow baking dish. Pour over the egg and milk mixture and let stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake in a preheated 375° F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pudding is set and the top is golden. Serves 4 to 6.
Alsace, Lorraine
CHEESE RAMEKIN
(Ramequin messin)
The name ‘ramekin’ derives from the Flemish rammeken (literally “light cream”). A ramequincan mean several things in France, from a kind of Welsh rarebit to a cheese tart. It can also refer to the small soufflé dish in which a ramekin is sometimes baked. The following recipe from Lorraine is a cross between a very light cheese soufflé and a gougère—the well-known cheese puff pastry from Burgundy.
1
cup plus 2 tbsp. milk
3
tbsp. flour
¾
cup (3 oz.) Gruyère cheese
3
eggs, separated
¼
tsp. nutmeg, freshly grated
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy saucepan and remove from heat. Add the flour and cheese, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the cheese is melted. Return to the stove and cook gently, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very smooth and thick and no longer sticks to the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add the egg yolks one at a time, blending well after each addition. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste. Beat the egg whites stiff and fold into the mixture. Turn into a well-buttered l½-pint soufflé dish and bake in a preheated 375° F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the ramekin in nicely puffed and the top is golden. Serve at once. Serves 3 to 4.
*“A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye.”