Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Fromage


No this is not a close up of pebbles in a Japanese garden, but a bunch of goat cheese that I photographed on a Paris market. As you may know we're big on cheese in France - it is said that there are 365 different kinds. Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a famous connoisseur from the 18th century even wrote in one of his books "A meal without cheese is like a one eyed beautiful girl"!

54 comments:

  1. lovely pic Eric. Adore the different cheeses you can buy in France. Careful though - brace yourself - are you going to get a string of questions about whether a girl could not still be beautiful if she had only one eye? lol... let's hope Dr. A. has got a day off. (sharp intake of breath)

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  2. There is a cheese named after Mr. Brillat-Savarin that I like very much. I had some for lunch today. All runny and smelly. I wish I were in Paris now though. Just some French (or French-like) cheese is never enough.

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  3. Eric, in so many of your shots (the last three for example) you display a great eye for the abstract dimension of an image. Of course, I can't be sure to what extent the design of your photographs is conscious - it may be purely instinctive - but what I am sure of is that it always adds something to the story you are telling, the mood you are trying to convey, or the sensation you are trying to suggest. These "pebbles" of cheese, for example, appeal not just to the tongue, but also to the nose, the fingers, and the eye - even, and this may sound a little strange, to the ear! There is a sound that only such soft and spongy objects can make, and your image evokes it powerfully - in part because of our first, and mistaken, impression that we are looking at a bunch of hard, inedible rocks.

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  4. Ah cheese, sweet tasty cheese, how I love thee! Though I've never had goat cheese before! Anyone care to express ship me some?

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  5. One cheese a day!

    That is one specialty of France I still really miss: smelly and tasty cheese ! ;)

    Trader's Joe and "finer" food stores such as Whole Foods do a pretty good job at importing a number of good cheeses from Europe, but the prices are usually still somewhat out of control (Trader's Joe's cheese prices are acceptable but not great compared to France). That's a shame.

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  6. "Comment voulez-vous gouverner un pays qui a deux cent quarante-six variétés de fromage?"
    Charles de Gaulle, 1962

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  7. If you hadn't told me it was cheese I would have said a combination of round breads....pumpernickle, rye, wheat, white. There must be a bread to match every cheese in France. Great photo shot as usual.

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  8. If any of you are coming to the UK and looking for a traditional country inn, i have just the place for you on today's photo at my blog! Or, for those of you missing English beer there's a pint-sized pic there...

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  9. Great shot! Cheese should always be a part of every meal.

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  10. I'm so glad there's a Trader Joes cose to my husband's work. My mother-in-law is working with our mayor to get one in our town. Hopefully that'll happen so I don't have to drive so far for some slightly more exotic cheese then Velveeta!

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  11. I can't believe that you omitted to point out that they are called "crottin" because of their similarity to animal droppings. So lyrical the French.

    By the way, cheese has feelings too.

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  12. You could have fooled me! I would never have guessed that was cheese...they look exactly like the stones I picked up from the beach in Long Beach, Washington!

    I had some very good (although VERY stinky...) French Camembert recently...I was wondering if they had to pasteurize it for the American market. Anyone know how that works? I could not find any info about whether this particular cheese was allowed in U.S. without pasteurization. Anyway, nice pic.

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  13. Mmmm... I love cheese and would definitely like to try the 365 kinds.
    These ones look quite "alive"...
    By far my favorite is blue cheese.

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  14. http://sacre-blog.blogspot.com/2006/09/cheese-cheese-cheese.html

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  15. http://sacre-blog.blogspot.com/2006/09/cheese-cheese-cheese.html

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  16. Susan, I can't tell you how the American market works, but I can tell you that when you pasteurise cheese you kill the flavour, and that unpasteurised cheese is actually safer (except for pregnant women, possibly) than pasteurised. This is becuase the natural bacteria in unpateurised cheese are in balance and also the false sense of security from pasteurised cheese. The majority of cheese related food poisoning incidents are related to cross contamination. Here is an article which touches on the American problems with cheese.

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  17. Johnny: There must be a bread to match every cheese in France.

    They don't have so many varieties of bread in France, actually, not at all like the US.

    A piece of a good baguette works with every cheese, as far as I know, or a piece of Pain de Campagne (country bread), yum...

    However, they have tons of different wines to go with all the different kinds of cheeses (don't ask me, though, I know practically nothing about French wines).

    Hey, I just thought of something. It's funny but in the US you have a ton of different kinds of breads and not very many different kinds of cheese, and in France it's kind of the opposite!

    PS. errr. I meant .. "it's odd" not really "funny" . Ahem. Pfeww that was close! Ahem.

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  18. lorsque je monte pour la noël, je t'apporterai " ù casgiu" notre fromage national celui qui marche sur lui même, enfin je t'ammenerai ausi de la confiture de figues parce que sinon ...

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  19. tomate: I think we should all buy our own island. Every American brings a different bread, every Parisian brings a different cheese. We each bring some alcohol. Party Island! Woooo!

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  20. Always a pleasure to catch up with your photos, Eric. I'm not a big fan of goat cheese.

    And, as for the gentleman below drinking champagne...it was fun to read all the comments.

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  21. Great lighting..and effective composition..Keep up the awesome shooting!!..~rick

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  22. I like this photo because I'm imagining that Eric took it not too far from the ecole militaire, eiffel tower, or "homeless?"man at the marché on rue Cler (he did mention it in one of his comments). It then deserves reflection on Louis' comment, but no matter, one can say that you can see "all" of Paris within blocks of each other.

    The goat cheese is covered in ashes for some particular reason I don't remember. But don't worry Soosha_q, even if you find some goat cheese there it won't be.

    As for Velveeta, I'm sure this is an american phenomena and something we could all stock up on during a nuclear attack...kind of like Spam (the real spam). But for those who've never come across this chemical wonder, here's the company website, but even more amazing, a Wikipedia page about it!

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  23. Haxo, thanks for providing a near translation of M. Benaut's comment above. Although according to him, it was 246 cheeses and Charles de Gaulle who said it.

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  24. Consumption of natural cheese in Japan almost doubled over the decade to 1998, when it reached 120,000 tonnes for the first time. It has risen steadily since, to 127,000 tonnes in 1999, 142,000 in 2000. 145,000 in 2001, and remained at that level in 2002 and the first half of fiscal 2003, according to Ministry Of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries statistics.

    Total cheese consumption, including processed cheese, rose for the five years to 2000, reaching 260,000 tonnes. It has stayed at about the same level since. Per capita consumption in Japan is 2.0 kilograms per year.

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  25. Ham, thanks. I read about all of that back when I bought the camembert so it is familiar. It's so funny that the FDA doesn't see the big picture...but that is true for most people as well....I find. Still, I do not think the camembert I bought was pasteurized. It was not marked as such...

    I just came back from seeing a great movie!!! I FINALLY saw "The Departed," Wow. What a GREAT movie! Leonard Dicaprio....I see Oscar nonimation. Just amazing!

    Anyone know how I can insert my pic to there is a face to go with my name? Blogger says there is a toolbar...but there is not toolbar on mine! Any help is greatly appreciated! If you want a face with the name, you can click on my name...good night!

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  26. Stop it Eric! This is real torture for a Froggie far far away from home...
    I am missing le bleu moelleux, le petit chèvre bien sec, le vrai camembert coulant and so on and so forth. Australia is producing ok quality cheese but nothing to compare with what you are enjoying on le petit marché du coin...

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  27. Hey, guys, look at that, Susan has a real "profile: now! Welcome to the community, Susan! :-D

    About the picture, I don't know what the new blogger/flickr combination does these days but I managed to upload mine through the Blogger profile feature. The picture must be hosted some place else and must be a thumbnail size (very small file). It's all explained in the help section of Blogger.

    Also, I noticed that I couldn't comment directly on your Flickr album. You might have turned that off in the settings. You have a few good ones, though :)

    Good luck with all that!

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  28. Soosha: the Island is not a bad concept! So tell us, who took that picture of the back of your hair? :)

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  29. i love French cheese. At times I make French evenings for myself. French cheese, bagett, dijon mustar and French red wine. hmmmmmm:)

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  30. Michael: thanks for visiting and your kind comment. Glad you liked the posting about an English pub.

    Susan: i can't get my photo up either but some techie has kindly left some advice at my site if you have a look at the pic of me there and his comments. i still can't manage it but maybe you can!

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  31. Fromage: Rue de Grenelle or Rue Cler or Ave. Bosquette? I have lately taken a real liking to "Drunken Goat" cheese.
    -Kim

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  32. 1000 mercis for this picture Eric ! A pleasing, soothing one. Yes, there's hope after all !

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  33. I thought they looked like cookies. But what do I know. MMM cheese way better than cookies! Yes ..an Island with bread and cheese Lets not forget the wine. Count me in! When I was a little girl I loved the book "Heidi" but what I remember most was them describing the Goat cheese and how they heated it and put it on thick slabs of bread. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

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  34. i swear i thought they're pebbles before i red your comment underneath.

    haha 'one eyed girl..' that's a great saying =)

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  35. Although i adore french cheeses, goat's cheese actually makes me feel a little ill. It seems quite rich and fatty, or is it just me? Don't they look attractive though.

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  36. From "The Age", one of Melbourne's major daily newspapers (07.11.06):

    Germ warfare

    Will Australia - despite the long struggle to get regulations changed - again lose Roquefort from our tables? It's a question that has to be asked as yet another shipment of the French cheese fails under the Australian Imported Food Inspection Program.

    Already France's largest producer of the cheese, Societe, has declared it will no longer export to Australia. Other producers are rationing the quantities they export because, since the laws changed to allow the cheese's importation in October 2005, Roquefort with a retail value of more than $350,000 has been destroyed or re-exported to France.

    The reason is E. coli bacteria. "Under the agreement reached between the Australian and French governments, no allowance was made for E. coli levels, despite repeated warnings that the current problem would occur if the cheese was tested," importer Will Studd said.

    "European food regulations place no limits on E. coli levels in cheese, but under Australian Food Standards (which are based on cheese made from pasteurised milk) E. coli levels must be under 100 E. coli per gram on five samples of cheese," he said.

    A shipment of Roquefort from producer Carles has recently been declared a "failing food", he said, because it contained small levels of E. coli.

    The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service has subsequently issued a holding order that requires the cheese to be re-exported or destroyed. "There is no health risk in this cheese," Studd said.

    "In fact, it is normal to find small amounts of E. coli in all soft and blue cheeses made from raw milk. All Roquefort will eventually fail this test unless the law on E. coli is changed."

    Food Standards Australia New Zealand is reviewing dairy food standards for cheese. Studd said draft proposals were expected next year.

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  37. What a wonderful picture, thanx ;o)

    How do we make pasteurized cheese? we don't pasteurize the cheese but the milk it is made of. Pasteurized camembert or other cheese are very common in France too, because they are cheaper to process than raw milk cheese, being made industrially.
    Raw milk cheese are becomming a sort of luxury around here, and lot's of people do not bother to pay for the difference ;o)

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  38. Thank goodness for Wikipedia. Doesn't Velveeta just sound fabulous (sarcasm). I'd have to agree with those who say it tastes like American cheese (another over processed "cheese") and Cheez-Whiz (over processed cheese in a can that you can squirt directly into your mouth).

    tomate: My son took the picture. And that's the front of my head! Aren't I cute?

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  39. I just read all the comments above and they reminded of a popular joke-type saying: "Ah, yes, according to one of the great French philosophers, Camembert or was it Rochefort, I forget, ........". Whenever I hear it, I always LOL.
    Have you noticed that Velveeta and others are labeled "cheese food"? I wonder why!! Maybe because any similarity to real cheese is purely accidental or contrived.

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  40. mmm mes préférés! De quoi nous faire tourner chèvre :-)

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  41. Bien trouvé, la comparaison avec des galets, moi ça ne m'avait pas effleuré. J'ai juste vue des merveilles de petits fromages de chèvre qui m'ont fait craquer complet. Ah mon royaume de Sydney pour un de ces crottins !

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  42. Eric, You surely need to be congratulated for your artistic and perceptive representations of, not only La Belle Paris, but of Life, Art, Culture, Beauty and the Enthusiasm of Life.
    You teach us to validate others and provide a platform to receive validation. Through your careful and most time-consuming endeavours I go each day to a beautiful country Inn in England, or to The Island of Corsica.
    Sometimes I am in San Francisco driving a 2CV with the silliest Numberplate in America. And I can be anywhere I want, when I want, every day.
    It is so tempting to wait till the clock strikes 12 to post the first comment of the day, but that would be mean, because the one that gets in first says things more intelligent than I, (but only because of the time zone difference).
    Lately , there has beem some quite descriptive terminology posted by commentator(s), and that is alright because the perpetrator(s) will review the comments that follow to unload more of their rocks.
    But rocks only splash the thrower.
    Cependent, please continue to do what you do in the way you prefer to do it; you are not being judged, but it is us.
    And we love it.
    Roll on December 1st!

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  43. Yeah, I guessed those were cheeses. But I didn't know ther were of goat.
    Amazing!!

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  44. Tonya a dit…
    favorite is (…) brie baked with garlic, or sometimes almonds and brown sugar.

    Aaaaargh ! I won't survive this. Somebody help me, please ! To late, I'm dead !!!!

    LOL

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  45. M. Benault - so glad you enjoyed the visit to my lovely, local pub! Have the rest of you been yet? You can see it at my blog. Typically English, a soothing break. Enjoy!

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  46. Here's a recipe for an easy warm goats cheese salad that I make. Start with a bed of salad leaves, any will do, strong ones like watercress or baby spinach work well. Fry up some bacon lardons and scatter on the leaves with some walnut pieces. Take slices of breat (french loaf is perfect) and toast lightly. Halve a garlic clove and rub it on one side of the bread. Take a crottin de chevegnol or other goats cheese like eric's picture and halve (you can remove the flat crust if you want to, there's no need but don't remove the outside edge of the disc). If you are using a bigger cheese, slice into 1cm slices. Place on the toast and bake in a hot oven or grill for 5 minutes. Plac on salad, drizzle some vinaigrette (make your own using lemon juice, french mustard and olive oil or use bought) and serve. Bon Appetit!

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  47. Eric thanks for another great photo. I would never have guessed that it was cheese.

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  48. Tomate, I'm not sure why comments cannot be left...I doublechecked the settings and it says they are allowed. Thanks for trying though!

    As for goat cheese...I've never particularly liked it myself. There is the exception of an empanada filled with goat cheese and other things at a particular restaurant here. But that's the only time I've ever liked it...I find it too "sharp." Maybe had I had some from gay Paris, I would think different!

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  49. Thank you, Eric for this picture. It influenced me to order L'ssiette de fromage at lunch today at Caribou Café.

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