It is cold again, surprisingly before Christmas, as it should be. I remember when I was young in the middle of France, snow appeared before and around this time of the year, it was magical and a time to have fun indoors, and this lasted normally for two months.
I will talk about cheese in general as usual, and I will address some of the news first. But first I would like to say that I have been very busy this week, well, the whole team really, as we have prepared some orders for this good time of the year for hotels, restaurants, and shops of London. Being a food-based business, cleaning and organising has taken a lot of time, cleaning is constant, and this was done outside as well as necessary, a lot of work but satisfactory at the end.
I like to have some music on when I work, it gives the sensation of an outside connection, and you get attached to a certain radio station after a while. I noticed an advertising which I found very clever, the brand of the American drink business, very, very famous, was not explicitly told, but you could straight away say that it is about this brand. However, due to the advert being repeated way too much (at the beginning and end of each ad break), I feel like I should not drink this anymore! And this is a shame as the song is clever, recognisable, and quite good, but too much is too much.
Another thing that tickled me this week: an American woman who knowingly fled after having killed an innocent young English man in Northamptonshire was given a suspended sentence. And then the government is proposing two years of jail for anyone found sexually harassing women in public (and why only in public?). the difference between the two might be motivated after the event of the last two years concerning women in England, BUT the difference between the two is jarring and disturbing, you can kill on the road, fled, and claim immunity, but do not talk to a woman in public if you do not know her!
Well, I exaggerate slightly on the last point, but I am not far from the reality really. And is it only me, but has Christmas been brought forward? I know that we all need to feel good in these difficult times, but Christmas songs and television advertisings started before the beginning of Advent…
Another thing that made me realise that journalists manipulate the truth, or just plain forget to explain the full context, was the latest comments about banks in England and the proposed deregulations. Now, I already said that banks, once consolidated by the taxpayers after the 2008 crash, have found a way to not pay any interests to savers and to charge as much as possible to everybody with so many restrictions that it is difficult to benefit from the good deals.
Anyway, before the infamous brexit the City was responsible for up to 15% of the national GDP (and by the way it is estimated that this said GDP diminished by the same amount these last few years due to this said piece of legislature), and it seems that it is only 10% nowadays, and this mainly due to the fact that the City lost its dominance and primacy and has been relegated to the fourth, or something, place and choice for banking services in the world. The said journalist might have been wise to expand on his explanations, and then again, we all know that brexit is no more an excuse, maybe just a bad choice and eat your cake!
The last topic of news that I found remarkable this week is about the NHS. Yes indeed, thank you, thank you, thank you, but how dare you want some more money!
No really, jokes asides, we all want to say thank you to everybody at the NHS (except maybe some trust director who just ignore journalists after being in charge of cover-ups), but for the last twelve years we have heard about the elderly care system that need reforming. So yes, to help the NHS and free some beds, the obvious solution and maybe not so quick anymore would be to take care of the care system in a nationwide way, do not pass the buck and tackle the problem, the doctors, nurses, specialists, and all others at the NHS will say thank you to you!
And of course, we have the football, and there I can not loose: I am French and I live in England (even if I would find amazing to have a third gold star on the shirt, which would be truly unbelievable). This tournament started with a strange outburst from its authority due to the politics surrounding it, but the football is remarkable and the results interesting.
A cheesemaker in a Fruitière of the Jura.
So, what about cheese and tradition?
It is the time of the year when many cheeses are at their peak, they have been well looked after the last few months and are ready for delectable consumption and the delight of the connoisseurs, as well as the pleasure of new consumers making discoveries. And understand that I am not talking about some industrially made cheese with some berry or other inserted in the dough but a well-made traditional product that is the fruit of well-established know-how, the end product of the labour of specialists in the dairies and cellars.
Of course, traditional cheeses are responsible for the maintaining of the high pasturelands, and I can tell you by personal experience that the high mountain passes need cleaning after the tourists have gone through. So, they have left their alpages and come done to the bottom of the valleys where the animals are looked after and the kids born, they are reaping the fruits of their labours, enjoying the fodder harvested earlier.
It is extraordinary to realise the efforts of the people who tend animals, they need to look after the earth as well, it is a natural by-product of their job, and they are not really well compensated for it (they work from before breakfast to very late as well, just try it for a few years…).
Otherwise, traditional cheeses are extraordinary, they taste so good, so many amazing people are part of the industry (yes, yes). Yes, indeed, you just need to go to your local cheesemonger, ask for a selection, order a plateau for any special event, you will see their dedication and imagination. You might even get some wine, biscuits, preserves, or even some quince paste, all traditional depending on the cheeses that you choose. You might well decide to pre-order a specific order, or you could ask for a special cheese that needs to be ordered. You could be interested by a tome au marc, one cheese that I find very good and original, a kind of Tome de Savoie but left in grapes that have been used to make wine (they are only slightly juicy with a hint of fermentation and tartiness). The cheese will stay deep in some of these grapes and they will stick to the rind, adding some flavour and crunchiness. You need to try it, and you could find Saint-Marcellin done the same way.
Please find a description below:
TOMME (DE SAVOIE) AU MARC DE RAISIN / AUX GENES DE MARC
History
The story of this technique, to add pressed grapes that were used for wine making on the outside of cheese, is from the nineteenth century, at least from records that I could find. This might have been done before by some ingenious person, or a clever farmer who did not want to throw away anything as long as he could use it. I am not for many additives used to cheese, I favour truffles to triple-fat or Coulommiers and Brie, as long as not too mature. I quite like this as well; it brings a touch of crunch and tradition to a usually mild product. What I really find strange is the use of fruits in factory made cheese, the resulting novelty is neither pleasant taste wise, neither satisfying; but I guess this is a matter of personal opinion. Arômes au gene de marc is the name of the cheese made around Lyon, it is small like a Saint-Marcellin and gene de marc is the name for the grapes that have been pressed to make wine but were not transformed into Marc, grappa like alcohol distilled from it.
Area of production
It is done in the Rhône-Alpes, from the Vercors with St-Marcellin or similar, to the French Alps of the Savoie where medium rounds are used and plunged into barrels of already used grapes.
Production method
Once the cheese is made, a short maturation is done to allow for a proper rind to form first. Then when the grapes have been used and pressed to make the wine, this is used to cover the cheese. This is done by plunging the cheese into a container, this may take many forms, and making sure that the cheese is covered on all sides by the grapes. After 10 days to 2 weeks this starts to stick to the surface of the cheese and the latent alcohol has permeated, the cheese is ready for sell.
Taste, flavour, look
Between the aromes and the tommes there are a few producers and sizes available, each with different specifics. The texture, however, is always interesting with a touch of softness from the cheese combined with some crunch from the pressed grapes. The more matured versions will have some colouring tinting the paste of the cheese, there is some trace of alcohol as well, and obviously this is completely natural.
Safe keeping
To be consumed within a week, wrap in cheese paper and cling film making sure to keep the grape bits stuck to the cheese, let breathe before use, and keep in refrigerator.
and as always, remember, traditional cheeses are the best.
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