French cheese
This is a list of French cheeses documenting the varieties of cheeses, a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms, which are found in France. In 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle asked, "How can you gov ...
Lisieux
Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland.
Name
The name of the town derives from the ...
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...
'' of
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. It is probably the oldest Norman cheese still in production.
Pont-l'Évêque is an uncooked, unpressed cow's-
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...
cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...
, square in shape usually at around square and around high, weighing . The central pâte is soft, creamy pale yellow in color with a smooth, fine texture and has a pungent aroma. This is surrounded by a
washed rind
Washed-rind or smear-ripened cheeses are cheeses which are periodically treated with brine or mold-bearing agents. This encourages the growth of certain bacteria on their surface which give them distinctive flavors. There are hard and soft washed ...
that is white with a gentle orange-brown coloration. The whole is soft when pressed but lacks elasticity. It is generally ranked alongside Brie, Camembert, and Roquefort as one of the most popular cheeses in France.
History
The cheese has been made in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
since at least the 12th century, and was allegedly first made by Cistercian monks who had settled west of
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...
(AOC) cheese on August 30, 1972, reaching full status in 1976. Its production was defined and protected with a decree of December 29, 1986. Le Petit Futé guides commend that the best AOC Pont-l'évêque comes from the Pays d'Auge, which includes the Canton of Pont-l'Evêque itself.
The AOC regulations include the following restrictions:
* The milk must come from a controlled area around the village of Pont-l'Évêque, extending to the départments of Calvados, Eure, Manche,
Mayenne
Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and I ...
, Orne and Seine-Maritime.
* The curd must be successively divided, kneaded and then drained.
* During '' affinage'' the cheeses must be washed, brushed and turned.
* The resulting cheese must be one of three sizes:
** ''Petit'' – 8.5–9.5 cm square, and a minimum of 85g of dry matter.
** ''Demi'' – 10.5–11.5 cm by 5.2–5.7 cm, with a minimum of 70g of dry matter.
** ''Grand'' – 19–21 cm square, with a minimum of 650g of dry matter.
The affinage lasts at least two weeks after production, though most are left for over six weeks.
The cheese is around 45% fat as a percentage of dry matter and is manufactured throughout the year. Regulations currently allow either pasteurized or unpasteurized milk to be used for its manufacture.
The annual production is around 3,500 tonnes, of which the majority is made by two large producers. Only 2% of the production is classed as '' fermier''. Acclaimed manufacturers include Bisson et fils, Lanquetôt, Lepeudry, and Levasseur.
Recipes include use in three-cheese fondue together with
livarot
Livarot () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Livarot-Pays-d'Auge.
The population is composed of 2,052 inhabitants (in 2017) and ...
and camembert, to accompany tournedos de veau.Le Petit Futé Rouen - Page 26 ed. Jean-Paul Labourdette, Dominique Auzias, Caroline Sainsard - 2010 "S'il n'y en avait qu'une à faire, ce serait le tournedos de veau poêlé et sa fondue aux trois fromages: livarot, pont-l'évêque et camembert. In-con-tour-na-ble. Et puis si vous terminez par les poires pochées à la crème de whisky, vous saurez ..."
See also
*
List of cheeses
This is a list of cheeses by place of origin. Cheese is a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms. Hundreds of types of cheese from various countries are produced. Their styles, textures and flavors dep ...