Milk (vache) cheese comparisons

[Dave Hatfield]

Host's note: these were moved over from the Chevre experiment topic so they would be better searched and discussed.

Ok, here's a virtual tasting that anybody can try. Two cheeses both cows milk & both raw milk. Both pretty readily available. Here they are:

So, St Felicien and Chaource. Buy, try taste. They should be easily findable.

As my old prof used to say; "Compare & contrast" in 500 words or less.

Let's see who prefers which. And why?

Finally, a question for the enthusiast. One of these cheeses is modern dating from the 1950's the other has been made for 500 years or more. Which is which?

Edited July 23, 2008 by John Talbott (log)

[Felice]

Thanks Dave, I am game and will get them over the weekend, because my little shop next door, while quite good, doesn't have a huge choice.

And without Googling I am going to say Saint Felicien is the more modern cheese, but only because it doesn't say AOC.

[Ptipois]

Saint-félicien (a larger version of saint-marcellin) used to be made of goat's milk, but not anymore.

And chaource is the older of the two.

Perhaps the posts should be moved to a new thread since neither of the cheeses are chèvre.

Edited July 23, 2008 by Ptipois (log)

[Dave Hatfield]

Saint-félicien (a larger version of saint-marcellin) used to be made of goat's milk, but not anymore.

And chaource is the older of the two.

Perhaps the posts should be moved to a new thread since neither of the cheeses are chèvre.

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Pti, Of course you are right they are both cow's milk not goat. I was trying to see if I could generate interest in a general French cheese thread, but I see that John has saved me from myself.

You're right that chaource is the older having been made since the middles ages.

I'm not so sure about the St Felicien / St Marcellin tie up although they certainly are similar. My information is that St Felicien was invented in the 50's in Lyon, but is now mainly made outside of the city. Perhaps it was intended as a St Marcellin knock off?

Interesting.

[Ptipois]

Not a knock-off, it was not invented in Lyon but in Haute-Ardèche, in a little village surprisingly called Saint-Félicien. It is slightly fattier and creamier than saint-marcellin but is in the same family of cheeses and has the same geographical origin. Both cheeses used to be made from goat's milk.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Not a knock-off, it was not invented in Lyon but in Haute-Ardèche, in a little village surprisingly called Saint-Félicien. It is slightly fattier and creamier than saint-marcellin but is in the same family of cheeses and has the same geographical origin. Both cheeses used to be made from goat's milk.

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I am constantly surprised to discover the proximity of various departments. In my mind, Lyon (Rhone) is distant from the Ardeche. But like two teardrops, one inverted, they are touching.

It's entirely natural/reasonable that the two cheeses are so related.

[Dave Hatfield]

Not a knock-off, it was not invented in Lyon but in Haute-Ardèche, in a little village surprisingly called Saint-Félicien. It is slightly fattier and creamier than saint-marcellin but is in the same family of cheeses and has the same geographical origin. Both cheeses used to be made from goat's milk.

←

Gosh! What's a guy to believe? References here and here say Lyon, but my French food heroine says differently.

Think I'll stick with her and gratefully accept being corrected.

In either case I'm looking forward to seeing some tasting notes & opinions soon.