Mont d'Or, or 'The Return of the Functioning Cheese Addict'

This cheese is legend. There is no comparison. There is no replacement. You may not have known there were rich veins of gold in France, but this cheese is proof. I would truly rather have this cheese than the equivalent weight in gold. Why? Because you can’t dip fresh baguette into gold and eat it hand over fist until yesterday, today, and tomorrow blend into a gastronomic experience unmatched this side of michelin star restaurants and epic myths. 

Fresh from the oven!

Origin: France and Switzerland

Rennet: Animal

Milk: cow, unpasteurized

Affinage: ~6 weeks

Notes:

This cheese is also known as Vacherin du Haut-Doubs. The rind is washed and wavy, but the smell while strong is not offensive. This is a mostly seasonal cheese, to be made and eaten in winter. One classic preparation is to slice small slits in the top of the rind and insert slivers of raw garlic, add a splash of white wine, and bake in the oven until melted through and bubbling. This is what fondue wants to be when it grows up. 

Thoughts:

Even without the garlic, even without the white wine, this cheese has layers of flavor like a good dog has wags. Sautéed onions and garlic, cream, pot roast, yes pot roast. This cheese is truly among the few that could ever convince me to give up my carnivorous lifestyle, so rich and hearty and satisfying is the mixture of salt and fat hidden in this soft orange rind. The raw milk, assuming your version like mine is made with raw milk, is also a delight, tickling the nostrils like a fresh breeze rolling down an alpine meadow. These cheeses come in various sizes and it is definitely no pushover, but of everything I saw on the christmas party buffet that evening the only thing I really wanted more and more of was this cheese. It is more tempting than the sweetest dessert, more intoxicating than the headdiest punch. This cheese can be hard to find in stores, partially because of its seasonality and partially because it is a raw milk cheese. If you do chance upon one, though, buy first and ask questions later. You will not regret it!  

Hello Dear Readers,

So let's address the proverbial 800lb wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano in the room. It has been a little while since I've written anything about cheese, much less cheese culture and the coming cheese revolution. What happened? Just the usual. Met a girl, settled down, moved abroad, settled down again. That, plus a catastrophic flood, a new job, and all of the other slings and arrows that seven years bring. Although I stopped writing about cheese I've never stopped loving and chasing after it, and so in a year that promises to bring a great many new changes I bring you this humble re-launch. There is a new Instagram to follow (@TheFunctioningCheeseAddict), and yes even some new cheeses! Look for them new every week.