After months of speculation, research, and cajoling, I finally managed to procure a proper raw-milk epoisses. As soon as Bill returned to the office from his Parisian vacation, he handed me a shrink-wrapped package of my requested cheeses: Langres, Muenster, Camembert de Normandie, and most treasured of all, a raw-milk Epoisses. Yes, I squealed with joy. Yes, I jumped up and down and did a little dance. Yes, my co-workers think I'm insane. And apparently, if you inform a cheesemonger in Paris that you will be transporting your little bundles of dairy heaven to the States he (or she) will vacuum pack it in a hermitically sealed pouch, theoretically in order to foil customs. In reality, there is no real need for such subterfuge. However, you may want to do so anyways, in order to avoid arousing the ire of your fellow passengers.
As soon as I got home, I punctured the package. The house immediately filled up with the unmistakable odor of washed-rind cheeses. Although the cheeses were housed in their round wooden boxes, the camembert had gotten dented, and the epoisses was just plain squished in the process of vacuum packing. The muenster had been flattened a little, but it seemed okay. It was the Langres that troubled me the most... The plastic wrap had made the rind slimy and unappealing. Although it was awfully tempting to eat all of the cheeses at once, I figured that a wiser course of action would be to let the cheeses rest in the refrigerator for a few days so that I could share them with fellow cheese lovers, Anne, Ryan and Justin.
Now, since the raw-milk Epoisses had become a hot topic on this site (in fact, I believe it was our first article), I decided to conduct a slightly more scientific tasting by comparing it with the Berthaut Epoisses that is sold domestically. Technically, it is not pasteurized - it is thermalized. Pasterization heats the milk at a very high temperature for a short period of time, while thermalization heats the milk at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. The theory behind thermalization is that potentially dangerous bacteria in the milk is killed while allowing the more flavor-enhancing bacteria to remain. It's too bad that the FDA doesn't realize that the bacteria (wrongly) feared in raw-milk cheeses (listeria) has appeared in pasteurized cheeses. But that's a subject for another article. Anyways, the thermalized Epoisses sold domestically is also delicious, and most cheesemongers have told me that it's not that different than the raw milk version. Was this so? It was time to put that assertion to the test.
As I mentioned before, the raw milk Epoisses had become squished when it was shrink wrapped. The box was dented, and the cheese was smeared against the cellophane seal. The thermalized cheese was a perfect speciment - plump and glistening with a smooth and unblemished rind. I opened both of the boxes. The raw milk epoisses was definitely stronger. In fact, it attracted flies. I was also a little concerned because it smelled slightly ammoniated. The thermalized specimen smelled normal, for the Epoisses I'm accustomed to - like hay. Both Anne and Justin were apprehensive about the raw milk Epoisses, especially after the last experience, so I dove in with the inaugural taste.
It was heavenly. So heavenly, in fact, that I insisted it was horrible and they must not eat it - I would be the sacrificial lamb to finish it and spare them of such an awful fate. Unfortunately, they know me a little better than that, and began digging in with their greedy spoons. Immediately, I received accusatory dagger glares. But we set aside the knives in favor of conducting a civilized tasting. We all agreed that the raw milk sample was much more complex than the thermalized version. It was more "mushroomy", garlicky, earthier and runnier. It also had a delightful "umami" aftertaste that the thermalized version lacked. The thermalized specimen was substantially saltier, slightly more bitte and sour, but had a creamier aftertaste. When Ryan arrived, we were well on our way to finishing the raw milk Epoisses. We immediately bonded together insisted that it was inedible, but he took one look at our fingers and cried, "It's so bad you've been eating it with your fingers! You didn't even bother with bread!" Yep. Guilty as charged.
So I believe my previous experience with the raw milk Epoisses was a fluke. Perhaps that one had been aged too long, but this new one was a revelation. In fact, it left me a little depressed. Epoisses is my favorite washed rind cheese, and eating the thermalized ones here just won't be the same after sampling the unpasteurized version.
Posted by connie at August 9, 2004 06:54 PM | TrackBack