MyGourmetConnection

The Coffee Plate is an assortment of French cheeses, including Crottin frais, Fleur du Maquis, Mimolette and Ossau-Iraty.

McCalman recommends tasting the cheeses in this order:

Crottin frais - This young goat's milk cheese hails from east Bordeaux. It features a natural rind, creamy texture and nutty flavor. Good substitutes: Chabichou du Poitou, Boucantrin or Rove des Garrigues.

Fleur du Maquis-Corsica - This artisan ewe's milk cheese, often encrusted with rosemary, comes from Corsica, featuring a soft, mild flavor and a slight blue mold. Good substitutes: Herb-crusted fresh cheeses from Corsica or Provence.

Mimolette-Nord-Pas de Calais - This unusual pasteurized cow's milk cheese is produced in Flanders. Mimolette is pressed, cooked and shaped. As it ages, it hardens and the interior turns a deep orange with a fruity, nutty flavor. Ideally, Mimolette should be aged 18 months or longer. Good substitutes: Aged Comte or Beaufort.

Ossau-Iraty - This farmhouse sheep's milk cheese is ripened in a Benedictine abbey in Basque. The recipe is 3,000 years old, and the cheese is semi-hard with a dense consistency and sweet fruity and nutty flavors. Good substitutes: Sheep's milk cheese from the French Pyrenees (i.e. Abbaye de Belloc).

Good luck getting her to share on Mother's Day - you might just have to sneak a piece of French cheese when she's not looking!

Photo courtesy of Cheeses of France. Top left: Crottin Frais; top right: Fleur du Maquis; bottom left: Ossau-Iraty; bottom right: Mimolette.

If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share ~

→ Return to category: Entertaining

• Related Terms:
• brunch
• cheese
• Mother's Day