5 kinds of cheese to bring home from France
If you are planning a trip to France, which is known for its varieties of cheese, you must already have a shopping list ready. Yes, you want to bring home some of their best cheese. But have you decided which ones to get? Beware, cheese can spoil easily, or leave your entire suitcase smelling like cheese! We recommend you bring home these hard cheeses.
Comte
Hard cheese travels the best, so that should be your preference when purchasing cheese from anywhere during your international trips. Comte is a rich flavored semi-hard cheese. It is one of the most famous kinds of cheeses in France. The taste is mild and slightly sweet. We recommend you pack it in a container while traveling.
Emmental Francais Est-Central
Emmental Francais Est-Central is a cooked cheese made from unpasteurized cow's milk. It is mold-pressed and matured for at least two and a half months before consumption. Produced in several regions in East-Central France, it has a fruity taste and goes well with bread, salads, and as fondue. The cows that are milked daily are only fed grass and hay to ensure quality.
Mimolette
Mimolette is a semi-hard orange cheese made from cow milk. Originally produced in the Lille region of France, it's also called Boule de Lille. This cheese goes very well with wines and savory dishes. Mimolette is eaten at different stages of aging. When it's "extra-old," it tastes like hazelnut. We advise you to buy the aged one to last through your trip.
Bleu de Saint-Jean
Bleu de Saint-Jean originates from Normandy. It is made of raw cow's milk and is available in about one-kilogram masses. Bleu de Saint-Jean is matured for at least five weeks before being sold for consumption. The texture of this bleu cheese is hard and dense, and it has beautiful blue-grey marbling throughout the body. The flavor is pleasant, balanced, and has a buttery aroma.
Bouton de culotte
Bouton de culotte is a traditional French cheese from Burgundy. They come in tiny forms of 30-40 grams each. Made with raw goat's milk, it's aged for two months. The texture is hard and dry, while the flavor is peppery and salty. Bouton is thought to be the smallest goat cheese, and possibly the smallest of all cheeses.
