When most people shop for cheeses at a counter, they seem okay with pointing at a cheese they're curious about, and requesting a taste. I, on the other hand, have a little ritual. I pick it up, turn it over, examine every square centimeter, and give it a little prod. I'll even take surreptitious peek and sniff under the wrapper, if at all possible. If it lives up to my standards - not dried out, not soggy, with smooth, uncracked rind and a fresh, unammoniated smell - I will request a taste (who am I kidding? I ask for a taste no matter what). One reason I do this is because I'm fairly obsessive compulsive about the foods that I buy. But there is another reason.... Although the Cheese Board has its blackboards listing hundreds of cheeses, that blackboard is not updated regularly. I learned this, after several weeks of requesting Boursault, and the cheesemonger finally told me that they hadn't carried Boursault for several years. "But it's still on the blackboard!" I protested, as if my words would magically produce a Boursault. "Well, it's kinda high up there. It's difficult to update." But just as there are cheeses on the blackboard that the Cheese Board does not carry, there are cheeses not listed on either of the blackboards that the Cheese Board does carry. Not long ago, when I picked up an Epoisses for its examination, I uncovered a lone, perfect camembert. Since then, I have dug around through the cheeses, on a quest to find this Camembert. Although most of my searches have not been successful, I have discovered other cheeses. One day, out of the corner of my eye, buried underneath some chevres, I saw a cheese that was about the same diameter as my beloved Camembert, but it was thinner, and the rind was smoother. Its label was obscured, so I asked the cheesemonger, "What's that?" "Huh. I haven't noticed this one before," she replied. She picked it up - it was a goat cheese called Les Petit Fiance des Pyrenees - and shaved off a taste for herself and me.
"Mmm. That's really nice," she declared. Immediately, her fellow cheesemongers clustered about, clamoring for a taste. I had to agree - it was quite tasty. Most of the goat cheeses (St. Maure, Valancay, Selles-Sur-Cher, Pouligny St. Pierre, La Roulle) that I've been buying lately have been from the Loire Valley. Les Petit Fiance (obviously) is from the Pyrenees. It is less delicate than the Loire Valley cheeses, and it is pressed in its making, instead of being drained. The paste is ivory colored, with a delicate saltiness. The texture is silky, firmer and smoother - more like a young reblochon, but not as rich - than a typical unaged chevre (it doesn't have that velvety and slightly crumbly "heart" that most fresh goat cheeses seem to) and it's not as tangy. I'm not sure how aging would affect this cheese - it tends to dry out near the rind, as opposed to becoming more runny. It is excellent, cut into paper thin translucent slices, with prosciutto, and a light red wine, like a pinot noir.
Posted by connie at July 25, 2003 10:44 AM | TrackBack