Another foodie thread

snowleopard

snowleopard

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Just back from Brittany and as always I am really fed up that it seems to be impossible to get proper French bread in Britain. Maybe the odd specialist in London does it properly but the stuff we get down here is leathery on the outside and stodgy inside. There was even the time when Safeways claimed their dough was made in France but it still had the dreadful British texture. Question - is there a DIY solution?

Rant over, now a more positive item - stinky cheese.

I always look for Rouy, a commercial soft cheese but it wasn't available in Leazardrieux so tried a few options. and discovered Saint Albray and the really stinky Pont L'Eveque. Any other suggestions?
 
I bake an awful lot of bread and it is a labour of love to get some kind of consistency with the results. I have a bookshelf full of books but the one which gave me the best results wrt French Bread was this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bread-River-Cottage-Handbook-No/dp/074759533X

The other tip is to buy digital scales as weighing ingredients is absolutely crucial to your success, and getting steam into the oven to assist with the initial rise. Good luck :D

Andy
 
Stinky cheese

snowleopard said:
Rant over, now a more positive item - stinky cheese.

I always look for Rouy, a commercial soft cheese but it wasn't available in Leazardrieux so tried a few options. and discovered Saint Albray and the really stinky Pont L'Eveque. Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Have you tried Chaumes from Perigord? A soft cow's cheese with a wonderful aroma.
 
Best I have found is part baked bread, presently use Lidl baggets long shelf life stick in oven. Not the same but good for low cost and effort...
 
I agree about the French Bread. We had some weeks in France recently and had a lovely time picking from a variety of baguettes - basic, a l'ancienne, rustique and so on, as well as a number of larger loaves. We get nothing at all like this in Britain and "French Bread" is just ordinary bread in an inconvenient shape. You can get decent bread here but it isn't French Bread.

I love French cheese, but not usually the named varieties. I normally go to the nearest market and pick out something that looks tasty and fresh, or sufficiently putrified to be interesting - cow, goat sheep or anything.

In Britain it is hard to get good French cheese, though we are starting to see some nice goat cheeses. There are plenty of lovely British cheeses I can get locally, so I don't worry about it.
 
Rouy I remember as being all mouth and no trousers, has an evil smell but a weak soapy taste. I like the blues like St Agur, Roquefort Bleu D'Auverne, Bresse Bleu (sold in the UK for some time) and one hard one with a nutty flavour whose name I forget which was actually best in the cheaper own brand supermarche versions.

French bread to me is mostly sausage shapes filled with something akin to the texture of kitchen paper towel, but the Viennoise were passable if fresh and we found some long life ones that were good, not so buttery and kept for two weeks, otherwise we bought Brioche buns (plain ones not the choccy chip variety) and warmed them under the grill before use(DO NOT do this with choccy chip ones...).
 
snowleopard said:
... and discovered Saint Albray and the really stinky Pont L'Eveque. Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

St Albray is a favourite of mine.

Probably teaching granny to suck eggs, but - like most soft cheeses - it is best to leave it at room temperature for a day or two in order to bring out the full flavour and creaminess. Only store it in the fridge thereafter, to slow down any further maturation.
 
footsoldier said:
most soft cheeses - it is best to leave it at room temperature for a day or two in order to bring out the full flavour and creaminess.
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Completely agree. A fridge is just plain bad for soft cheese. Even the Lidl Camembert tastes good if left in a cool place to mature. Mind you, I may not be the best person to ask. I reckon most soft cheese isn't ready to eat until it comes when you call it :D
 
Reminds me. A 'French market' is visiting town this Thu. Huge con as the baguette stall just re heats part baked just like the supermarkets but at three times the price. Crepes at £3 odd a go makes Paris seem cheap. Nice varity of cheese but little bought due to the 'special' prices.

Much of the food looks as if it 'should' be refrigerated(sp?)but is not.
 
Alana13 said:
May I suggest you l'Epoisse from Burgundy?
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Or also Munster.

FWIW, here are some cheeses that I personally like :

Auvergne (a quarter of all cheeses AOC) :
• Cantal (‘vieux’, or, ‘entre deux âges’) hard
• Fourme d’Ambert (blue)
• St Nectaire ( semi-hard)
• Le Salers ( a cousin of Cantal)

Swiss :
• Emmental
• Gruyère

Others :
• Brie
• Crottin de Chavignol (chèvre/goat)
• Chèvre de Rocamadour (goat)
• St Maure (goat)
• Reblochon
• Morbier (semi-soft layered cheese )
• P’tit Basque (brébis/ewe)
• Munster

(A good goat’s cheese is when you cut it and none remains on the knife.)
 
All those cheeses are probably excellent, but where they are sourced can be just as important. You need to go to the fresh cheese counter at a shop or supermarket, or a market stall. In the case of whole cheeses you just have to choose at random but when they are larger cheese cut, then look at the cut surface and choose one that looks fresh and appetising.




Most cheeses are eatable but if you want something interesting, and therefore better value, look for farmhouse quality (fermier, and similarly in other countries such as Holland) or something that looks individually made. We buy a variety, including Camembert-like clones, cream cheeses, young and aged goat and so on. Don't just go for what you recognise: you won't get poisoned. Even this one was delicious:







297.jpg
 
I must let you all know just how lucky First Mate and I are living near Abingdon. Tucked away down a side street is an authentic French Patiserie who also do very good bread. We spoil ourselves rotten-especially when we are off sailing-with their wonderfull bread and pastries. The owner and his wife run it, he can be seen making the stock and she takes the money. They close when they are sold out, which does not take long.
 
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