Ramblings of a retiree in France
While many nations have turned to alcohol or cake to help them through the stress of lockdown, it seems that the French comfort food of choice is cheese – consumption of which has soared over the last year. Of course, I am not surprised. No meal in France is considered complete without it.
According to a number of articles in the press, cheese consumption skyrocketed last year, as the French turned to their comfort food of choice during lockdown. Data from FranceAgriMer-Kantar, shows sales of cheese increased significantly last year, as follows:-
This perhaps isn’t very surprising as restaurant closures meant everyone was cooking at home. For example, sales of raclette machines increased by a whopping 300% during France’s second lockdown last year. Amazingly, the French enjoyed 34,000 tonnes of the melted cheese in 2020.
While these were the clear favourites, all cheese saw an increase in demand, including those that had become less popular in recent years such as coulommiers (+5.6%) and camembert (+2.2%). Goat’s cheeses increased by 7.2%, and organic cow’s milk cheeses also saw a spike in popularity (increase of 6.2%) in 2020.
However, despite this increase in demand from individuals, the industry is still suffering because of the afore-mentioned restaurant closures.
Why do the French love cheese?
The French love of cheese is legendary, and absolutely real. Recent surveys show that 96% of French people eat cheese, often daily. There’s nothing I love more than cheese shops and market stalls with a vast selection of cheeses of every shape, size and variety. Soft and creamy goat cheeses, hard and strong sheep cheeses, tender oozing brie and blue cheese with thick mouldy veins.
You’ll find cheese boards on the menu of every restaurant, while it would be hard to find a park without someone picnicking on bread and cheese. A good cheese – usually along with wine – is one of the important element of a French meal. Statisticians say that the French people consume up to 30 kilos (57lbs) of cheese per person per annum..
So it’s fair to say the French truly have a passion for cheese. They have been eating it for so long that they cannot imagine life without it. It’s a part of their culinary culture and lifestyle. It’s a cultural touchstone.
Why is cheese so important in France?
Cheese is so important in France, both culinarily and culturally, that you’d think it had been invented there. In fact, cheese was first made in prehistoric times, probably in the Fertile Crescent – not, as far as we know, in the region that would eventually become France.
Cheese making and eating had certainly spread to Europe by the time of the Roman Empire. By 77 AD, Pliny the Elder claimed that the best cheese came from places such as NÎmes and the Lozère region, both located in Gaul – in other words, modern-day France.
Still, despite its relatively long presence in France, exactly why cheese is so important in French cuisine and culture is a bit of a mystery. One interesting study suggests that there could be several reasons, including the French obsession with rules when it comes to classifying and eating food, a desire to hold onto a product and associated traditions that are distinctly French in the face of globalisation, and resistance to fast food culture.
The authors of the study admit that their research is only based on contemporary subjects, as opposed to, say, an examination of the evolving role of cheese in French culture over the centuries, so these probably aren’t the only reasons why the French consider cheese so important and such a quintessential part of their culture. But it’s a start.
How do the French eat cheese?
In general, the French eat cheese just like the rest of us. That is, either on its own, sliced or spread onto something (most often a piece of baguette), or in a recipe. However, it’s rare to see the French eat cheese on crackers. Most of the time, cheese is eaten on its own, with fruit, wine, or nuts.
Cheese is usually a part of a multi-course meals. The French don’t eat cheese with the other courses or as an appetiser (although some meals or salads may of course include cheese in them). Traditionally, you’ll find that cheese is consumed after the main course and before the dessert. Usually a plate is served with either one exceptional or at least three cheeses, each representing a different style of cheese or a different type of milk (sheep, cow or goat). The cheese plate will be served at room temperature, as this is optimal for flavour. Usually the cheeses are arranged around the platter from the mildest to the strongest.
How many French cheeses are there?
Most countries have a few varieties of cheese they’re proud of but the French have an unbelievable number!.
Some low estimates of the number of French cheeses hover around 200-400. Charles de Gaulle himself famously asked:
Comment voulez-vous gouverner un pays qui a deux cent quarante-six variétés de fromage? (How can you govern a country that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?).
But that is actually a low estimate. According to the CNIEL (Centre National Interprofessionnel de l’Economie Laitière), there are 1200 varieties of French cheeses!
The reason for this staggering amount is that, in addition to some fundamental differences that clearly reflect a cheese’s taste (for example, you can’t really confuse camembert and roquefort), dairies, industrial production lines, and artisanal cheesemakers will often tweak a basic recipe to create a slight variation.
In tomorrow’s post, I’ll look more into the types of cheese we enjoy here in France.
Ganz toller Käse!!😋😋😋
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Mi buena amiga,te saludo con mucho cariño !
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Muchas gracias
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Ah, but the French cheeses are formidables!
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Vraiment formidables!
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French comfort food aka fromage: Part I
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So which one is your favourite?
If you could only buy three cheese this week what would they be?
I don’t like anything too strong or sloppy.
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Sadly, I can longer eat dairy 😢 but previously I loved anything strong and sloppy. TBH I enjoyed pretty much all cheeses but particularly those made from unpasteurised milk and goats milk.
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My beloved hubby enjoys cheese so I’d probably buy him a nutty mature Comté, a strong and sloppy goat’s cheese and anything else my cheese shop recommends.
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I would chose Spanish Manchego, A Greek Feta, Dutch Gouda, Italian Parmesan (of course) and a strong English Cheddar.
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What, no blue cheese?
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Not a really big fan I have to say!
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What about some of the milder blue ones?
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Super Käse !!!😋😋😋
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Danke!
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As a fellow fromage-o-phile, this post is making me very hungry 🙂
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Sorry!
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I love just about every cheese! Very interesting post! Cady
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Thanks
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I love just about every cheese! Very interesting post! Do you have a favorite Raclette recipe? I want to try that! Cady
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I confess that I’ve never enjoyed raclette or fondue – too much cheese. I’ll see if I can find you a good recipe Cady.
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https://everydayfrenchchef.com/recipes/vegetables/raclette/
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Ok I finally found it! I checked out the Raclette thing on Amazon, Interesting! But the recipe says I can melt my cheese in the oven too, so I may do that first…..first I have to find the cheese! I am going to Nashville in a couple of weeks and that city seems so refined to me I bet they will have a better cheese shop then what I have here in my berg! I’ll keep you posted! Love your food posts! Cady
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Good luck with the raclette
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Interesting point of view 🙂 My favouriste cheeses : ” Chaource” and ” Petit Langres ” ( from Champagne )- amitiés françaises !
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I’m not familiar with those. I shall have to investigate further. Thanks
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I LOVE cheese (maybe my French heritage?)! Baguette and cheese were my lunch when I traveled in France and Italy in my youth. Sadly, I developed dairy allergy in midlife that swells my mucous membranes making breathing difficult. When tempted with a platter of delightful cheese, I manage to limit myself to a nibble, savoring it slowly. There really is nothing like a good cheese!
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I now have a similar issue and am reduced to savouring the scents in cheese shops.
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I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With is probably my favorite movie title, because it’s true. Hopefully if I ever find her, she has more money than I because good cheese is expensive!
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If the cycling, Le Tour, and other aspects of French life weren’t enough, cheese would seal the deal to move there… if only I had the money, more of the language, legs for riding up mountains, etc.
This was an instructive post and I look forward to part two, Sheree!
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Thanks!
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Mais bien sûr!
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😎
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Very true, good luck with your search.
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Thanks. As long as there’s cheese in the world, we know there is hope. A former improve comic I used to know once said I liked cheese so much that “have a friend in Cheese-us.”
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😆
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Cheese for the win, always. 😀
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😎
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Love these cheeses.i bought a block of Brie today..Made in France ..my favorite
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😎
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For some reason my elementary school French teacher taught us how to say “cut the cheese” in French so I will never forget what fromage means 😂
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😎
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delightful read! and yes, i love cheese! 🙂 🙂
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Thanks
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Un jour sans fromage et vin est un jour sans soleil!
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Tout à fait
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Fascinating post I was so surprised they eat cheese after the meal and before dessert!
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Yes indeed
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Don’t mention a Comte. Its been two years since I tasted any, and there is no light in this tunnel to see a Comte by.
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Sorry!
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🙂
I was hoping that exports would have started by now, but I suppose since it is an essential item in France ….
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Cool
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I do like French cheeses – except for goat, which I dislike whoever makes it.
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Fair enough
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🙂
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I love cheese. I should visit France someday and have the opportunity to eat it, in all kinds of meal. 😊
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You must
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Cheese has always been my comfort food. I’ve lost count of the amount of cheese and wine evenings I’ve had during the past year! Mmm that just might have something to do with the extra weight gain! 😀
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Wine and cheese – perfect pairing!
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Oh yes, but not sure what my sugar levels and Cholesterol will look like. Probably much higher than a year ago!
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😎
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Pingback: French comfort food aka fromage: Part II – View from the Back
Interesting read, Sheree. I don’t like cheese that much especially the stronger smelling ones, I tend to stay away. But my little one lovessssss her cheese.
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😎
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I love cheese.
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😎
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Between your words and the photos I am now quite hungry … think I’ve got a little goat cheese in the fridge … excuse me…
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😎
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I’m an Indian. But damnn I love cheese and France and just everything French. Only the word French releases dopamine. I feel guilty for eating too much cheese but thanks to this blog. Now I know I’m way far than eating “too much cheese”.
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Pleasure
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