Allow me to apologize, dear reader, for the otherwise unforgivable failure of posting consistency. Just like that famous Beatles song, I'm Back in the USSA. Or something like that. I don't know.
Between the 6 hour time difference, the prevalence of American English being spoken all of a sudden, the relatively massive cars and the noted lack of oversalted food here, you'd think I was in a different country or something. This is all a round about way of saying I've finally made the trip back to the USA, and am currently in a state of limbo of sorts; stranded between university life in Germany and university life in Colorado. For an exchange student who hasn't been home in a year, that state of limbo looks like hurried plans to meet up with everyone ever, trying to do a million (no joke, one million) administrative things, and generally wanting to eat when others want to sleep, sleep when they want to eat, etc. Also always wanting to say the German words/grammar instead of the English, despite the fact that no one around you now speaks German.
Moral of the story; boo hoo my life is so tough that you should all take pity on me and forgive the late post. Which goes as follows.
In honor of the continent I have so recently left, today I bring you a cheese that you can only find there. Or rather, one that you should only really look for there. It is, you guessed it, a French brie style cheese called Reblochon. That ruh-bloe-SHAW to all of you not gifted in French. It translates roughly into "to milk again", but can also mean "to steal, swipe". You see back in the day tax was based on how much a milkman milked. So to save a few ducats the clever dairy man could not fully milk the cows, pay the tax, and then milk the cows again. This second milking, a richer and creamier milking, would then go on to become Reblochon, a cheese known and loved throughout France. Made my the wives (tradition insists it is a woman's product) for the family, it is a staple French cheese and an absolute gift for the outsider fortunate enough to try it.
Origin: Haute-Savoie, France
Milk: Cow, unpasteurized
Rennet: Animal
Affinage: ~6 weeks
Notes: Will melt all over anything as it comes to room temperature. For best results bring to room temperature over a baguette and then enjoy a hassle-free taste of cheese decadence. Finger food for the fortunate. 45% fat, AOC, uncooked, pressed, washed with whey during the aging process.
Thoughts: A very chewy and minerally rind , so thick as to almost constitute a sandwich, is the first impression of this cheese which, though it smells like those 4 week old leftovers, taste mild and very pleasant. Smooth as could be and so light on the palate one could forget it’s there, the paste of this cheese is the most reserved and subtle of pleasures. Garlic, mushroom, salt, nuts, more garlic, and a clean grassy aftertaste to die for play off the palate in a delicate symphony. I usually insist on eating the rind whenever I enjoy such a cheese but in this case it completely covers up the beauty of the paste with its thick, chewy heaviness. Hints of tart from the raw milk show up here and there and the flavor flows dynamically from start to finish, an absolute delight.
Random Thought to Burden You Further With
If I seem cranky from now on, don't worry. Normal behavior for those leaving a land of unpasteurized cheese.
Thanks for posting this! Of course...a cheese that's only found in Europe. Guess I'll just have to take a weekend to fly over there and go pick some up. Perhaps I'll try your substitution of Brie. I don't usually like Brie, at least not the pasty kinds, but maybe I'll give the garlic/mushroom flavors a try. Glad to hear you're back, good luck settling back in. Marni and I have talked about doing fancy fridays again this semester, so hopefully we'll see you at all of them! :)
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