Tome d’Aquitaine, France

What separates the cheese freaks (like myself) from mere cheese lovers or cheese admirers? A subscription to Culture magazine. A willingness to spend $20 or more each week on cheese. And use of the following words when describing cheese: “beautiful,” “mind-blowing,” “irresistibly charming.”

All those phrases are apt for my second featured cheese of the week, Tome d’Aquitaine. Also known as Clisson, this French goat’s-milk cheese takes cheese worship to a whole new level. Its paste is light, floral and salty, with a smoothness that makes it easy to inhale. During the dog days of August, Tome d’Aquitaine is a breath of fresh air – perhaps a breeze blowing off the Atlantic. I don’t meant to get all poetic – it’s just that good.

Tome d’Aquitaine is another example of how cheesemakers can work in tandem to create tantalizing cheeses that neither could fully develop on its own (see Clothbound Cheddar, Cabot and Jasper Hill, and Grafton and Faribault Dairy). This cheese begins its journey in the Loire Valley (a premier goat-cheese-producing region) at the Union Laitiere de la Venise Verte, a dairy cooperative that produces cheese, butter and baby formula. Later on the wheels of Tome d’Aquitaine travel to Bordeaux, where renowned affineur Jean d’Alos washes the rind in brine and Sauternes. The result – total cheese bliss. Serve it up with a dry white wine, like a Muscadet from the Loire Valley.

Psst…this cheese also makes a great birthday gift, and I’d share it with a certain birthday girl today if we didn’t live 1,000 miles apart. Happy birthday, Colleen!

 

Pont-l’Évêque, France

Pont-l’Évêque is a true table cheese – a staple on the Normandy sideboard for hundreds of years along with other regional foods like apples, butter, cream and cider. Not showy or high-maintenance, this pasteurized cow’s-milk cheese would round out any hearty meal nicely. Its meaty paste and nutty flavor could stand up to a number of rich dishes, French or otherwise, and would ensure that you don’t leave the table hungry.

Like many washed-rind cheeses, Pont-l’Évêque is quite pungent. The wedge I bought at Surdyk‘s began stinking up my refrigerator as soon as I brought it home, and I actually finished the cheese in two sittings so the smell wouldn’t linger in the fridge any longer. However, with this cheese, its bark is worse than its bite – the paste itself is fairly mild and shouldn’t overwhelm those with delicate palates.

Pair Pont-l’Évêque with a fruity white from Bordeaux, as per Wine Spectator‘s suggestion, or go bubbly with Champagne. Of course, cider would make a stellar match as well.

 

Ossau-Iraty, France

My cheese of the week also hails from the mountains, but from the range on the opposite side of France – the Pyrenees. Ossau-Iraty is an raw, AOC sheep’s-milk cheese made in French Basque country, and its mellow, slighty oily flavor has become one of my favorites. Aged for 8-9 months, the cheese has a moldy rind that some eat, though I prefer to trim it away. I’d rather concentrate on the beige-colored paste inside the rind, which has a pleasing texture and firm bite.

My friend Ariela and I once included Ossau-Iraty as one of three cheeses in our picnic lunch, and it’s really the ideal picnic cheese because it can be paired with so many foods – fruit (especially apples), olives, cured meats, nuts and crusty bread. Bring along a bottle of a big red wine, like a Bordeaux or Zinfandel, and you’re all set for a lovely meal.