Cheddar cheese in France

[Dave Hatfield]

I'll get in trouble over this post as I have done with some others, but much as I love the cheeses of France (just ask the various fromagiers locally & at nearby markets; the all love to see me coming & my wife says that at times I'm getting mouldy.) I still have not found a really good substitute for a really nice sharp farmhouse cheddar.

I've tried Cantal of various ages, Laguilole also of various ages and Salers yet again of various ages. They are all wonderful cheeses, but just don't taste the same as a good cheddar.

Any suggestions?

[menton1]

With over 400 cheeses available in France, you will just have to "suffer" I suppose.

They don't have clotted cream in France, either, but, c'est la vie!!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

If you're happy with "walks like a duck, quacks like a duck", you might be satisfied with Mimolette.

Edited June 8, 2006 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[Kouign Aman]

Can you get someone to ship you a wheel from England, 'cross the channel?

[BigboyDan]

You can get Cheddar in Paris, of course; also, the Tex-Mex and American diner places around the city use it.

[Culinista]

Can you get someone to ship you a wheel from England, 'cross the channel?

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Heh, I had to smuggle cheddar to a Canadian friend. Felt so weird bringing cheese INTO France.

[Dave Hatfield]

If you're happy with "walks like a duck, quacks like a duck", you might be satisfied with Mimolette.

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I'll try Mimolette again. Haven't tasted it for years. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Ptipois]

In Paris: Monoprix, Inno, Lafayette Gourmet, Bon Marché, etc., and almost any fromager has sharp farmhouse cheddar. I agree that the problem is different here and there's nothing like cheddar when that's what you need.

Far from Paris: any supermarket of some size may have it. The bigger the store, the likelier.

IMO Mimolette is much too lean and compact to be a substitute for cheddar but for gratins, why not. Cantal and laguiole have a different taste but the texture and the way they behave in cooking are very close to cheddar. When I can't have cheddar I use good young cantal.

Any other craving while we're at it?

[Dave Hatfield]

Thanks everyone. Yes, I have smuggled, that works, but we run out of the cheddar too soon. I'm going to try the mimolette & I'll buy some cheddar when next I' in the big city.

Smuggling reminds me of a story. Years ago one of my British managers was poached by the parent company in California. The move went well & he & his wife were very happy. When I talked to him just before starting a trip to the Calif HQ the only thing he seemed to miss from the UK was stilton cheese. No problem! I bought a nice large chunk to take as a present. I was afraid to put it into my checked baggage for fear that it would get frozen & spoiled so I wrapped it very carefully, I thought, & put it in my briefcase. Somewhere over Canada thing started to get a little smelly. 'eau de stilton' by the time we got to SF everyone in my section of the plane was very glad to get off. US customs didn't catch me, the stilton was delicious and Don & Anne are still very good friends.

[Ptipois]

The thick, perfectly aged slice of blue stilton I bought a couple of months ago at Monoprix Beaugrenelle (in Paris, 15e) was better than any of that cheese I've ever had in England. But that doesn't happen everyday.

I can at least be sure that the Paris Monoprix stores and the fancy épiceries like the Lafayette, Inno Montparnasse and the Bon Marché have sharp farmhouse cheddar on a regular basis, and sometimes stilton too. But other places (including the regional stores) might only have lower-grade, orangey cheddar, and that's the one that's closest to mimolette indeed.

[Dave Hatfield]

The thick, perfectly aged slice of blue stilton I bought a couple of months ago at Monoprix Beaugrenelle (in Paris, 15e) was better than any of that cheese I've ever had in England. But that doesn't happen everyday.

I can at least be sure that the Paris Monoprix stores and the fancy épiceries like the Lafayette, Inno Montparnasse and the Bon Marché have sharp farmhouse cheddar on a regular basis, and sometimes stilton too. But other places (including the regional stores) might only have lower-grade, orangey cheddar, and that's the one that's closest to mimolette indeed.

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Ah to be in Paris instead of out here in the sticks!

When I choose my cheese there I have no end of picks!

Out here in the hinterland I have to choose what's there

but I'm fortunate; I get to breath the country air.

So, much as I love cheddar I'll have to say tis true;

Not living in the the city is something I don't rue!

Lousy poetry, but I think you can get my meaning.

[Ptipois]

Lousy poetry, but I think you can get my meaning.

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Well, jus'tellin'ya where to get cheddar, mate.

[marlena spieler]

they sell montgomery's cheddar on at that little fromgerie i forget its name, on rue st antoine near the metro for ile st louis. montgomery cheddar is worth travelling to the big city for.

[Dave Hatfield]

Lousy poetry, but I think you can get my meaning.

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Well, jus'tellin'ya where to get cheddar, mate.

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Tip appreciated, Ptipois. Just couldn't resist the doggerel.

While you're in the wonderful cheese emporiums try some Gaperon. A very nice cheese & worth a try if you haven't had it before.

[Dave Hatfield]

they sell montgomery's cheddar on at that little fromgerie i forget its name, on rue st antoine near the metro for ile st louis. montgomery cheddar is worth travelling to the big city for.

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Thanks, Marlena. It goes on our list for the next visit to Paris.

Don't know when that will be, but the list is getting pretty long.

[bleudauvergne]

Thank heaven for mothers. Mine hauls several pounds a year from New York (where the best cheddar is made ) to Lyon. She says that at a security check they raised an eyebrow because her cheese hauling goes against the natural cheese flow. Not many people understand. But those of us who know a good cheddar know it's all for a good reason. When she goes to see my siblings who live in the States, she also takes them cheese from home - even as close as neighboring state Pennsylvania they don't make cheese like this.

At the St. Antoine market for a couple of weeks this Spring one of the fromagers had a wheel of cheddar. It wasn't very good, though.

[Ptipois]

While you're in the wonderful cheese emporiums try some Gaperon. A very nice cheese & worth a try if you haven't had it before.

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Thanks. Half of my family is from Auvergne. The other half is from camembertland. 'Nuff said.

[Dave Hatfield]

While you're in the wonderful cheese emporiums try some Gaperon. A very nice cheese & worth a try if you haven't had it before.

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Thanks. Half of my family is from Auvergne. The other half is from camembertland. 'Nuff said.

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My usual failing. Preaching to the converted & those with superior knowledge.

I'll shut up & hope for some cheese tips from you!

[fresh_a]

Guess this goes under the heading of "why would you want to"...

[DCMark]

Ever heard of mac & cheese?

Guess this goes under the heading of "why would you want to"...

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[fresh_a]

Yes. Like I said..

[Dave Hatfield]

Yes. Like I said..

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Cheddar is cheddar and there is no French substitute that I'm aware of. Tried the mimolette & although its a very nice cheese it is not a cheddar substitute.

Think of it this way: Why bother to import a bottle of good Bordeau to New York when you can buy perfectly good upstate New Yprk wines? Somehow they're just not the same.

[Carlsbad]

I'm not sure that was the best example.

[Dave Hatfield]

I'm not sure that was the best example. 

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Probably not, but.. reductio ad absurdum was the idea.

[fresh_a]

Like I said. Thanks for agreeing!