Cheese - the new wine! Why cheese is now the new healthy food.

My friend Anne, a confirmed cheese fan, sent me this article The Health Benefits of Cheese in Berkeley Wellness | Sept 01, 2015.  In it researchers say that cheese, not wine, may be what is largely responsible for the so-called French Paradox! Really?  Whoa! How cool is that? 

In short, some studies are now clearly showing that cheese is indeed good for you!  Despite the saturated fats that exist in cheese all the probiotic properties coupled with the vitamins and minerals are just the tip of the iceberg.

Evidently some studies point to the conjugated linoleic acid in dairy fat and calcium in combination with other dairy components which help reduce body fat. Eating cheese also helps reduce cavities, keeps blood sugars in check for those with diabetes and may even help reduce colon cancer.

Apparently the good news is that recent studies now point towards the health benefits of cheese that us cheeseheads already knew, but now the rest of the world is starting to wake up to! 

Eat More Cheese!

And now you have it! Scientific proof that eating cheese is good for you.  Here is an article in Time Magazine titled: Here’s Your New Science-Backed Reason to Eat More Cheese, by Mandy Oaklander dated April 13, 2015 that reveals all.

 

Did you really think otherwise?  The average French person is thin and eats 57 pounds of it a year! So what are you waiting for?  Go to your local cheesemonger and buy cheese!

Cheese - the soul of the earth

 

ter·roir 

[French ter-wahr / ter' wa] noun

The conditions in which a foodstuff is grown or produced giving the food its unique characteristics. 

The French Ministry of Agriculture definition : a combination of land specificity and human savoir-faire.   

Origin: French: literally, 'soil, land', from Medieval Latin terratorium 

In France, this mythical word represents simply the land. And yet, it is more than the soil and climate or geological and hydrological conditions. It is the quintessence of agriculture, the combination of geography, people and culture. While the meaning has been greatly debated across the wine world as to whether it is a real factor or not, in the art of cheese, it is self-evident. This is not an elitist concept; rather it is a respect for the locality, the history and the people who create the product. 

With cheese in France, as with many other artisanal products here, these elements of tradition can be traced to when people were isolated from one another and other communities. With their particular climate, the vegetal species, the race of their animals and the chemical structure of their milk and personal interaction, individuals in small communities began to produce products particular to their region; each exhibiting differences in taste, in texture and in shape. 

Terroir represents locality, continuity and consistency which we find in region specific cheeses. Each of them provides us with a vision of the cultural diversity of their area as well as the shared habits of the local people and their interaction with the surrounding environment. We come to realize that "terroir is all about human intervention."  

Terroir represents locality, continuity and consistency which we find in region specific cheeses. Each of them provides us with a vision of the cultural diversity of their area as well as the shared habits of the local people and their interaction with the surrounding environment. We come to realize that "terroir is all about human intervention." 

Interactive map

To codify this combination of the basic identity, the knowledge it represents and to help preserve the regional specificity of a group of categories of foods, produce, wine and cheese, the French developed a system known as l’Appelation d’Origine Controllée (AOC). The process is in-depth and exacting. It documents the essence of the cheese: its historical framework, the its agricultural dictates such as breed of animal, location, vegetation and all the processes used to create the cheese. 

The process attempts to define, if not the soul of a cheese, its roots. The first AOC cheese to be protected by this status was Roquefort in 1925. Currently 46 cheeses have l’Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée designation in France; 29 cow, 14 goat and 3 sheep milk cheeses. There hundreds more French cheeses which display unique regionality and typicity.  There are some fun websites that let you view the regions and their associated AOC cheeses, which you click on a region and the AOC cheeses will come up. 

The European Union has used it as the basis of an EU wide programme – l’Appellation d'Origine Protégée (AOP) which is of similar scope and more stringent in some of its requirements.

Our fascination with this intervention, this interaction, this portal into the soul of the earth is what we here at Domaines & Terroirs seek to discover through journeys into the countryside.

The New Art of Cheese Writing

'Galets de Cher  It’s like getting the high of a Bikram Yoga class without the heat, the postures and the drill sergeant instructor.'   

Now that's what I call a description!  Apparently in the US, and in particular in NY, cheesemongers create little odes to each of their cheese to help tantalize customers into trying a cheese.  So a bit of creative writing added to great personalities with lots of knowledge about this most wonderful product and wow, how cool is that? I can imagine this happening in the UK but never in France!  This is too bad as it really seems like a natural part of the process of marrying nature, terroir, skill and personality.  

Take a look at this article In the Dairy Case, Ripe Prose, by Jeff Gordinier, in the NYTimes January 22, 2013 and read all about it.