cheesy solutions

[lamington]

For the first time I will have access to a *fridge* for four days in Paris, so I'm planning to jettison some of the cafe and resto hopping and aim for a little home cooking and eating... at last the markets will be useful rather than just beautiful.

I am definitely not a voracious eater of cheese, but would like to broaden my knowledge of varieties, and I'm not sure how best to do this without straining my finances or having a lot of excess cheese. There is no way I could eat my way through a mountain of rounds of cheese, even with a little help from an accomplice, so how best to sample a range of cheeses?

I'll be staying in the 11th, close to rue Oberkampf, which I know fairly well. There's at least one cheese shop on the street, plus the small market on Richard Lenoir, and the large one down towards Bastille. And I can hop on the metro to the Auchans at the end of the line... not the most respectable solution perhaps, but one perhaps worth keeping in mind?

I'm fairly open minded about varieties, though least enthusiastic about soft white rinded cheeses and blues.

[Bonita de Voogd]

I am in France at least three times a year, and these are the cheeses I always try to get hold of:

Cantal (Fourme de Cantal, AOC) - Auvergne

Gruyère du Comté (AOC) - Jura

Laguiole (AOC) - Auvergne, Languedoc-Rousillon

Epoisses de Bourgogne (AOC) - Bourgogne, Champagne-Ardenne

Beaufort (AOC) - especially the 'd'Alpage'-variety - Rhône-Alpes

Don't worry: no soft white rinds and nothing blue in it ..

[Ptipois]

See here (in French but there are pics).

Also this page.

In English, no pictures.

Perfect, a dictionary with pictures.

[SuzySushi]

Go to a GOOD cheese shop and ask for samples. Explain to the proprietor that you'd like a selection of different types of cheeses for a cheese platter, and let him/her guide your selections based on your tastes (e.g., if you comment that one type is too strong, s/he will know to offer you milder choices).

Don't write off all bleu cheeses, BTW. Try some Bleu d'Auvergne!

And be sure to try at least one goat's milk cheese (my favorite is the small Cabecou de Rocamadour), and one sheep's milk cheese.

[lamington]

These are good and interesting suggestions guys, thanks. My theoretical knowledge of varieties isn't bad, it's just the actual opportunity to try a wide variety in France which has been lacking.

[David Lebovitz]

I do recommend that you pick up a copy of 'French Cheeses' (a BK Eyewitness Handbook) which is a terrific reference. Steven Jenkin's Cheese Primer is full of great information, but too heavy to carry and a bit opinionated (although his opinions are usually good.)

You can get very good Comté and Beaufort cheeses. Brie de Meaux is right in season now, as the cows are eating mustard, giving the cheese a rich aroma. Many of the brebis cheeses from the Basque region are fabulous, especially with some dark cherry jam that many fromageries carry.

And in spite of how silly you may feel, most cheese shops are happy to sell you a small amount of cheese (like 100 gr/4 ounces) if you want to try it. And usually it's fine to ask (and take) their advice as they know what they're doing. They won't steer you wrong, since they're more interested (in general) in you getting the right cheese, than selling you as much as they can quickly and getting to the next customer. (Coming from the US, that was a pleasant change and a good lesson for me.)

Avoid buying cheese at Auchan.

In spite of the slightly better prices, if people begin buying their cheeses there, small fromageries will eventually diminish and artisan cheeses (which require much more care than industrial cheeses) will become more scarce, as stores like Auchan will no longer want to bother to carry them. With EU regulations threatening artisianal cheese production, it's important to continue to support handcrafted cheese and the people who make them.

David

[bleudauvergne]

I do recommend the BK eyewitness Handbook, it's a good way to maneuver through and know what you're buying.

One thing you could to is go to a restaurant known for their cheese plate. This way you can try out a whole bunch of different cheeses properly, seated and relaxed, with a glass of wine, and then the ones you like best you can get from a fromagerie. One restaurant with a nice cheese plate at a reasonable price is Astier, 44 r Jean Pierre Timbaud in the 11eme. Does anyone have any other suggestions for restaurants?

[lamington]

I very much appreciate the tip about the restaurant! But in the end, as the budget isn't enormous, I won't be hopping between restos for their cheese plates... maybe one resto for the cheese will have to do.

Do gulleteers know of any reliable fromageries in the 11e or nearby, or good cheesemongers at either of the markets on bld Richard Lenoir?

[Margaret Pilgrim]

One restaurant with a nice cheese plate at a reasonable price is Astier, 44 r Jean Pierre Timbaud in the 11eme. Does anyone have any other suggestions for restaurants?

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Le Villeret  13 rue Ternaux (an alley running parallel to Oberkampf, just west of Parmentier)   (11e)     01.43.57.89.76

[John Talbott]

I very much appreciate the tip about the restaurant! But in the end, as the budget isn't enormous, I won't be hopping between restos for their cheese plates... maybe one resto for the cheese will have to do.

Do gulleteers know of any reliable fromageries in the 11e or nearby, or good cheesemongers at either of the markets on bld Richard Lenoir?

←

I was just passing down Richard Lenoir this afternoon on a bus (I know, it doesn't run there, but there was a manif) and I saw nothing. Also Pudlo lists nothing in the 11th for cheese. The great cheese places, Alleosse, Cantin, Androuet, are pretty far away. But as I keep saying here, everything is nearby in Paris. The Repaire de Cartouche in the 11th has camembert "straight from the farm." Good eating!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I very much appreciate the tip about the restaurant! But in the end, as the budget isn't enormous, I won't be hopping between restos for their cheese plates... maybe one resto for the cheese will have to do.

Do gulleteers know of any reliable fromageries in the 11e or nearby, or good cheesemongers at either of the markets on bld Richard Lenoir?

←

I was just passing down Richard Lenoir this afternoon on a bus (I know, it doesn't run there, but there was a manif) and I saw nothing. Also Pudlo lists nothing in the 11th for cheese. The great cheese places, Alleosse, Cantin, Androuet, are pretty far away. But as I keep saying here, everything is nearby in Paris. The Repaire de Cartouche in the 11th has camembert "straight from the farm." Good eating!

←

There are several rather good cheese suppliers at the Thursday and Sunday markets at the intersection of Lenoir and the Bastille.

[ljr]

You will also need some bread so I presume you know about "Cherchez le Pain" by Steven L. Kaplan which is a guide to the "meilleures boulangeries de Paris". It is written in rather academic French but is well worth struggling through. In the 11th he recommends Eric Becaert at 7 rue Sedaine (M. Breguet-Sabin), Franck Lamet at 61 Oberkampf, Les Bannetons de Charonne at 149 Bd. de Charonne (M. Philippe Auguste), and Michel et Brigitte Nicolle at 11 Av. Philippe Auguste (M. Nation). Best bread for me is at Julien or Gosselin on rue St. Honore. If you find yourself in the 14th check out Augustine the winner of the 2004 Grand Prix de la Baguette de la Ville de Paris and you are not too far away from Eric Sanna on rue de Retrait (M. Gambetta) in the 20th - the 2005 winner who will have been supplying Chirac with his daily bread since February.

Edited April 27, 2005 by ljr (log)