Époisses Napoleon loved it, and Jean Brillat-Savarin, a famous French epicurean, dubbed it the "king of all cheeses." It is arguably the most deliciously pungent, highly regarded and -- fairly or unfairly -- most infamous raw-milk cheese in France, if not in the whole world, making most top 10 lists. The origins of the Époisses (pronounced: ay-pwah-ss) can be found at L'Abbaye de Citeauxin the 16th century. It is here that a group of Cistercian monks first produced this remarkable complicated cheese. Two hundred years later, when the community of monks left, local farmers inherited the recipe, which developed over the next century. Although popular at the start of the 20th century, with over 300 farms manufacturing the cheese, production had all but died out by the end of the Second World War. In 1956 a pair of small farmers, Robert and Simone Berthaut, re-launched the production of Époisses by mobilizing the traditional skills of those who still knew how to make the cheese. The process involved is painstaking, requiring a delicate balance of temperature and humidity. And, as with all fine raw-milk cheese, good bacteria present in the milk must be allowed to flourish to enrich flavor without creating dangerous bacteria that can lead to illness. At the first stage of manufacture, the whole milk is heated to around 30 C (86 F) with the coagulation lasting for at least 16 hours. The fragile curds are drained in molds for 24 hours, and the whey then allowed to run off, a method that the French call caillé lactique. Around 48 hours later the cheese is unmolded, salted, and placed on racks to dry; once dry, it is moved to cellars to mature. The final touch in producing a great Époisses is the periodic washing of the rind of each cheese, eight or nine times during the ripening period, which lasts at least 28 days but can go as long as eight weeks. Because the cheese is initially washed in salt water, it's extremely salty and has a rich flavor profile that is reminiscent of beef broth. During the fermentation process, the wheels are regularly washed in Marc de Bourgogne, or a local pomace brandy, which gives the cheese its woody flavor and pungent aroma. In 1991, the cheese was awarded AOC status. Under AOC regulation, only cheese made in listed communes in the Côte-d'Or, Haute-Marne, and Yonne departments may bear the appellation. Made from pasteurized cow's milk Country of origin: France Region: Burgandy Family: Epoisses Type: soft, smear-ripened Texture: chewy, creamy, firm Rind: washed Color: orange-red exterior Flavor: salty, spicy, sweet Aroma: pungent, stinky Age: at least 6 weeks Vegetarian: no
Morbier "Morbier" means "small market town" in French. Morbier is a semi-soft cows' milk cheese named after the small village of the same name in the Franche- Comté region. The Jura and Doubs versions both benefit from an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC), though other non-aoc Morbier exist on the market. Legend has it, back in the 19 th century when making Comté; cheesemakers would end the day with leftover curd that was not enough for an entire cheese. They would press the remaining evening curd into a mold, and spread ash over it to protect it overnight to keep it from drying out and to keep the insects away. The following morning, the cheese would be topped up with morning milk. Thus the cheese consisted of a layer of morning milk and a layer of evening milk. Nowadays, the cheese is usually made from a single milking with the traditional ash line replaced by vegetable dye. Morbier (pronounced MORE-bee-yay) is ivory colored, soft and slightly elastic, and is immediately recognizable by the thin black layer separating it horizontally in the middle. It has a washed rind that is yellowish, moist, and leathery. It measures 15 18 inches in diameter, about 3 inches in height, weighs about 20 lbs., and has a minimum fat content of 45%. Although Morbier traditionally was prepared on independent farms only in autumn and winter, today it can be found year-round on farms and in cheese making cooperatives known as fruitieres. By law, it has to be aged a minimum of 45 days. Many though age it for two months. After this initial aging, it is then washed with brine, and then aged another two months. It has a fresh hay aroma, and tastes like nuts and fruit. Made from unpasteurized cow's milk Country of origin: France Region: Franche-Comté Family: Comté Type: semi-soft, artisan Texture: creamy, springy and supple Rind: washed Color: ivory Flavor: citrusy, fruity, full-flavored, tangy Aroma: grassy, pungent, strong Age: 2 3 months Vegetarian: no
Cheese of the Month: French Morbier Pairs best with our Cabernet and Roux! A semi-soft cow's milk cheese named after the small village of the same name in Franche- Comté. It is ivory colored, pliant and slightly elastic. It has a bold, fresh hay aroma and complex taste of nuts and fruit. Morbier is immediately recognizable by the thin black layer separating it horizontally in the middle. Legend has it that Comté makers with extra curds at the end of each day sprinkled them with soot to protect them until they could add curds from the following morning's milking. The wheels were then pressed and washed with brine and enjoyed for personal consumption. Today the layer is one of vegetable ash, a merely decorative cue. The cheese is finished in Murray's aging caves to pungent and peanutty perfection. Our February Month of Amoré Special Any 2 bottles of wine plus 1/2 lb French Morbier for only $70! Photo by Murray s Recipe of the Month: Montbenoit's Canapés It may be the dead of winter, but one bite of ooey-gooey goodness, and it's bye bye frosty blues. This is the very traditional recipe for Montbenoit's Canapés from the Franche-Comté region, where Morbier is made.
Recipe of the Month: Montbenoit's Canapés serves six 6 slices leavened bread (swap for any thick, crusty bread you enjoy. kudos if you slice it yourself :) 10 shallots (swap for 3 fist-sized red onions) 1 heaping cup bacon, raw and chopped 1 glass dry white wine 1/2 lb Morbier cheese (oh hey! that's our cheese of the month!) 3 1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces 3 tablespoons vinegar salt and pepper to taste 1. Peel the shallots and cut into fairly thin rings. Put a pan on medium heat and add the butter. As soon as it begins to fry, add the shallots. Stir fairly roughly to start separating the rings. They should fall into ribbons when cooked. Do not salt at this stage. 2. Cover and leave to cook, stirring occasionally just to avoid the pan browning. 3. When well cooked and of melting texture (about 20 minutes), remove lid and add one glass dry white wine (if possible French Jura wine), salt and pepper. (I read that using an oxidized Chardonnay can work equally well, meaning you leave the wine open to air on purpose overnight to oxidize it. I've tried it!) 4. Continue to cook, uncovered, until wine is absorbed. Taste and adjust seasoning. Wine is there to add a little acidity to balance the shallots' sweetness. 5. Meanwhile, put the chopped bacon into a hot frying pan and cook until browned. Remove from heat, drain off excess fat, add the vinegar, mix and set aside on absorbent paper. Vinegar is there to add a little acidity to balance the fat of bacon. 6. Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut Morbier cheese into six thick slices. Remove rind. 7. Cut six slices of bread to at least 1/2 inch thickness, remove crust and toast until they are brown and crusty outside, still soft inside. (My favorite technique for this is to place the bread on baking sheets, toast in your oven for 5 minutes, turn them over and toast an additional 2 minutes.) 8. Sprinkle each toast with a dash of white wine, then distribute the shallots, then the bacon. Top with a slice of Morbier cheese. Increase oven heat to 460 F. 9. Put the canapés in the oven and watch closely: it's done when cheese is melted and slightly toasted (about 10-15 minutes). Serve immediately. Step-by-step pictoral and original recipe can be found here. Bon Appétit!
Comté Saint Antoine Comté is a French cheese produced in the Bourgogne- Franche-Comte region of Eastern France. Comté has the highest production of all French AOC cheeses, around 40,000 tons annually. The unpasteurized cow's milk used is mainly from Montbéliard or French Simmental cattle (or cross breeds of the two). The best specimens are made from summer milk, when the cows are grazing on mountain meadows. Back in 1966, Marcel Petite reached an agreement with the local government in Jura to take possession of Saint- Antoine, a defunct military fort. After purchasing the fort, he had a roof built over the courtyard and then covered it with eight meters of soil. Petite realized that his Comtés should be aged in their natural environment, near the mountain cheese dairies where they are made. When aging operations began, they had some 300 wheels of Comté on hand. Today, over 100,000 wheels are ripened for 10 to 20 months. The Comté of Marcel Petite are unusual in many ways, but he is considered an innovator for his vision of aging cheeses for longer periods of time at lower temperatures through a painstaking attention to detail. Before Mr. Petite, the average age of a Comté was a maximum of 12 months because beyond that point the cheese would begin to deteriorate on the cellar shelf. The manufacture of Comté has been controlled by AOC regulations since it became one of the first cheeses to receive AOC recognition in 1958, with full regulations introduced in 1976. Fresh from the farm, milk is poured into large copper vats where it is gently warmed. Each cheese requires up to 160 US gal of milk. Rennet is added, causing the milk to coagulate. The curds are then cut into tiny white grains that are the size of rice or wheat which are then stirred before being heated again for around 30 minutes. The contents are then placed into molds and the whey is pressed out. After several hours the mold is opened and left to mature in cellars, first for a few weeks at the dairy, and then over several months elsewhere. The Comté Cheese Association provides an aroma wheel that specifies the 83 distinct aromas that can be found in this deceptively complex cheese. But the main aromatic flavours that delicately linger on the palate are a balance of brown-butter and roasted-nut aromas and a sweet finish. Made from unpasteurized cow's milk Country of origin: France Region: Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Jura Family: Gruyère Type: semi-hard, artisan Texture: firm, dense, grainy, open, smooth and supple Color: pale yellow Flavor: fruity, nutty, salty, savory, smoky, sweet Age: 12+ months Vegetarian: no
Comté Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Huckleberry Jam Makes 1 2 thick slices of good quality white bread softened unsalted butter 2oz Comté cheese*, sliced thinly Huckleberry jam** 1. Preheat a griddle pan or large heavy frying pan. Spread some butter on one side of each bread slice. Griddle for a couple of minutes, buttered side down, until bread is lightly toasted. 2. Remove the bread from the pan. Butter the other side all the way to the edges. 3. Turn the bread over to the toasted side and spread with a little huckleberry jam. Add with the cheese slices and then top with the other slice also spread with a little huckleberry jam, griddled side in. 4. Return the sandwich to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, pressing down with a spatula. The sandwich is ready when the cheese is nicely melty and the bread golden and crisp. Slice in half, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy! * Instead of slicing the cheese you can grate it it melts quicker but doesn't look quite as attractive. Comté cheese is aged younger cheese (matured for about a year) is better for melting. Reserve the aged Comté for your cheese board. ** Try using cranberry relish, caramelized onion chutney or quince paste instead of the huckleberry for a more savory sandwich.
Croque Monsieur Recipe credit: Ina Garten Serves 4-8 Ingredients 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cups hot milk 1 teaspoon kosher salt ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper pinch of nutmeg 12 ounces grated Comté ½ cup grated Parmesan 16 slices of bread (I like sourdough for this recipe) Dijon mustard (I use our Chardonnay mustard) 8 ounces sliced ham Photo by Food Network Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 2. Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat, add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, ½ cup grated Comté, and the Parmesan and set aside. 3. To toast the bread, place the slices on baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until nicely toasted. 4. Lightly brush half the toasted bread with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Comté. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with the cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Comté, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot. This recipe becomes Croque Madame by topping the sandwich with a fried egg! Amazing flavor and amazingly simple to create, this is an impressive option for casual gatherings with friends. Serve with a side of Tomato Basil Soup for extra credit. Click here for the original recipe, video instructions, and reviews.