FRANCE, GOAT’S MILK
PERSONALITY: Like spring incarnate, a goat cheese worthy of Persephone.
Picture a Klondike Bar for grown-ups: a square of impeccable goat cheese rolled in herbes de Provence and pink peppercorns. Carre du Berry is the kind of cheese you want to eat on a park bench in spring or share with a new infatuation. The herby aroma calls to mind pretty things: rain, new shoots, nests. And the taste is, well, purely refreshing, like citrus zest mixed with snowfall. If the French have cornered the market on goat cheese, it’s because of cheeses like this. It might as well have been assembled by elflings.
Carre du Berry hails from the Loire Valley, a region that is famous for its lush pastures. Few areas of the world produce goat cheese this pristine: no goaty tang, no “bucky” whiffs here. The same region is also known for Selles-sur-Cher (page 80) and Valençay (page 82), both of which are rolled in ash—very dramatic. Carre du Berry doesn’t come cloaked in darkness. Its coat of herbs enhances the grassy notes in the milk and infuses each bite with splendid flavor. At Easter time, this is an especially picturesque cheese to serve at brunch.
Good matches: Serve Carre du Berry with warm rolls for breakfast or with crackers before dinner. To pair it with other spring cheese highlights, add a small leaf-wrapped Banon (page 88) and a rustic wedge of Tomme de Savoie (page 135). With some fresh strawberries and a dish of walnuts, you will have a beautiful little French cheese board.
Wine/beer: Beaujolais or rosé will work beautifully with this cheese, and so would a wheat beer.
Here are a few cheese pairings that are lovely before noon; try them all together for a sumptuous spread, or carry a couple of them to your room for a decadent breakfast in bed: Moses Sleeper (page 106) with blackberry jam, Carre du Berry with toast and smoked trout, Selles-sur-Cher (page 80) with fresh raspberries, mascarpone (page 32) with preserves and scones, ricotta (page 34) with honey and blueberries.
FRANCE, GOAT’S MILK
PERSONALITY: Elfin and elegant, like a character from the pages of Tolkien.
If you’ve never come across this dainty toadstool-like cheese before, you might be a little taken aback by its wrinkly surface. Fear not: it’s a gentle marshmallow, at least when it’s young. Aged crottins turn peppery and a little angsty. Ask your cheesemonger to help you gauge the strength of this cheese before you set about selecting pairings. You can also take ageing into your own hands and let this cheese sit out on your counter (under a glass dome, please) for a few days.
In France, these compact cheeses were often served as quick snacks during the grape harvest; they originated in the hamlet of Chavignol, a well-known winemaking region. Today, they’re popular picnic fare, often enjoyed on rounds of baguette with a schmear of butter.
Good matches: Try popping a couple crottins under the broiler and serving them warm atop lightly dressed greens. Otherwise, give a drizzle of honey and cue up some Jacques Brel.
Wine/beer: Flinty Sancerre from the Loire Valley is a classic pairing, but wheat beers work well, too. Noted British cheese writer Patricia Michelson suggests Scotch (an Islay) as a pairing for mature crottins—the smoky character common in Islay soothes the feisty acidity. Sit back and let peat mingle with barnyard.
BULGARIA, SHEEP’S MILK
PERSONALITY: An unassuming star, not too salty, with a huge fan club.
No doubt there will be quibblers here since so many countries produce feta, including France and Israel, not to mention Greece. Sorry, Greece! At the risk of peeving whole nations, I will say this: Bulgarian feta is the creamiest. Hopefully, we can agree there. If you are one of those people who have been buying foam hunks of grocery-store feta your whole life, only to crumble it on the occasional watery salad, wake up and smell the Bulgarian ewe’s milk. Once you discover it, you will never go back to dry, salty ceiling tiles of commercialgrade stuff.
Let it be known that there are also a growing number of great American feta makers. Look for them at farmers’ markets, particularly among the goat people. Feta can be made from any kind of milk, but goat’s milk lends itself especially well to bright, acidic feta that’s especially good for marinating (see recipe, page 73). Because it’s a brined cheese, feta keeps almost indefinitely in your fridge. If you buy a tub of it in summer and keep it around, you’ll probably invent ten new uses for it, from baking it into casseroles to eating it fresh on everything from greens to watermelon.
Good matches: Feta is a brilliant mate. It pairs well with lamb, mint, olives, figs, and roasted red peppers Try crumbling it onto salads or baking it with whole dates at 350ºF for 20 minutes, then drizzling it with honey.
Wine/beer: The straightforwardness of this cheese calls for a straightforward slosh: go for a mellow white or red, or pick a pilsner.