French Bread and Cheese, a Love Story

Photos and text by: Corey Amaro

FRENCH BREAD. The endless world of Baguettes.... After twenty some years in France ONE would think I could walk into a bakery and not drool on myself. 

At the market a woman walked by carrying three baguettes, they looked the same at a glance, but look at the ends... Each one has a slightly different end... Different endings, though the taste is more or less the same. With that said, I prefer the one on the left, the ficelle, it is long and narrow, more chewy crust per bite. Good for dips and spreads.

The square ended one is called a pain de campagne, it has some rye or whole wheat flour, lasts longer than the one day shelf life of a classic baguette.

The one in the middle is a batard. It is shorter than a ficelle, half the size and thicker than a baguette. French bread descriptions.... sounds like body types don't they? I wish I could say I was a ficelle body type, not a batard!

Batard means "bastard" in English. When the baker comes to the end of the dough, and there isn't enough for a baguette he uses the left over bit to make a batard.

Anyway bread, cheese, wine... the daily love feast of the French. The last supper, my favorite supper. Oh these French classic basics. Give or take a beret, soccer and cigarettes.

Thick edible crusty goat cheese, Valencay is covered in charcoal. Direct from the farm. Soft center. Lovely with a green salad.

Salad and cheese are served at the end of a French meal. Salad then cheese. Sometimes they are served together. In fact the hostess will ask, "Do you mind if I serve the salad and cheese together." I never object.

Salad is never served first. Unless it is a "Composed Salad" which means it has more than green lettuce in it. Salads at the end of the meal are just green.

The name of this cheese cracks me up....Bouton de Culotte - Underwear Buttons. Also a goat cheese. Can you imagine asking your guests if they would like some more "Underwear buttons with their Bastard?"

Lovely.

The French know how to add humor to their daily rituals. They know how to hide a smile. They know how to beat the system. They know that life is not that serious even if they get caught up with how to cut the cheese.

Why yes, there are rules on how to cut the cheese. I will talk about that another day.

Anal is just another word for why constipation runs high in France. 

Goat cheese is my favorite 

(No, it doesn't smell like goat urine, anymore than cow cheese does.)

Chabrion is a soft cheese with rosemary. 

Add some tomato chutney, a bit of this cheese and a glass of Medoc.

Sechons, or dried hard like a rock, tough as brick, break your teeth is a goat cheese.

I think if you take fresh goat cheese (above photo) and let it dry for ten years and a day, you would have Sechons. Doesn't that sound yummy? They are, but they are not my favorite. Honestly hard as a rock cheese, why?

My theory is: Leftover cheese that didn't fly off the shelf. Re-brand it. Call it Sechons.

Marketing baby.

Bleu d'Avergne, Gorgonzola, Roquefort.... love it.

Endive Roquefort Walnut Tart is one of my stand by quick dinners.

 

Isn't there a saying that says, "You can tell a foreigner by the shoes they wear?" I am sure I have heard that before.... Anyway, in France they say:

"You can tell a foreigner by how they wear their scarf."

 
I am teasing the French don't say that. 

 

 

 

Melons and strawberries, cherries and peaches. 

Summer is for romancing the taste-buds.

 

I love these little signs, especially when they are attached with these metal hooks.

 

 

 

 

 

Onions in a basket from Cevennes. 

 

 

 

Flowers in a zinc bucket. 

 

 

 

Fish in shells.

Picturesque.

 

 

 

Then I saw the cherries which caused me to shiver.

Where is the love story? Somewhere between the lines.

 

Comments

[Marilyn]

Now you have me drooling over bread, cheese, and oh those cherries in the end. We have a market nearby that sells a wonderful batard. I am addicted to it.

I always heard that in France you can tell a foreigner by his shining white tennis shoes. I would never wear them to France for sure.

Thanks for visiting me. I do get many comments on my hair and it always makes me smile. Loved, loved chatting with your mom as she went about her job of watering the plants. Just pure delight.

[Jean(ne) in MN]

I feel that I have been to the marche today with your beautiful pictures. Give me the fresh goat cheese with the rosemary for lunch. I'll buy cherries here today(on sale for $1.99/lb). Bon appetit!

[Celeste]

Oh Cheese, how I love you so!

When I was 19, a friend and I spent a week wandering the streets of Paris. We ate cheese and bread, and the occasional glass of wine. That was all we could afford. I couldn't find a reason to complain, it was all so perfectly yummy. Good memories!

[Diogenes]

A very informative and pretty-to-look-at post! If the shelf life of a baguette is only one day, no wonder you have a recipe for soup that uses them. I assume you eat the charcoal outer layer with Valencay, or not?

[Lana Kloch]

love the topic today... am in berkeley ca and shop @ acme bakery and am often at a lost as to what type of bread i should purchase and what are the difference...

love the different types of cheese as well as the accompanying photography.

am always left breathless and humbled by your articles.

[French la Vie]

Hi D

Yes you eat the charcoal layer. As you eat most of the crust on the cheeses in France.

C

[Marie-Noëlle]

I love cheese, especially Charolais cheese.
Charolais cheese+bread=heaven !
But above all, I love CHERRIES !!! And if I could get them at the price that shows on the "ardoise" on your last picture, I would buy tons of those !!!
2,..€ a kilo !!! I can't believe it !!!
Round Paris the average price was between 5+ and 7+ € the kilo !!! ARRGG !!
I DID buy some but we ate them parsimoniously !!

[Zosia]

Posts like these should come with a warning: "Drooling, sudden feelings of hunger, and trips to the fridge are known adverse effects of Corey's posts about French food."
Bye for now, my fridge is calling. Not sure if I have any cheese :-(.

[Franca Bollo]

Coco, making fart jokes across the Internet. Like I said, you can take the girl out of Willows ...

Why rock-hard cheese? I grew up with an ever-present wedge of Romano in the refrigerator which Phil grated into a snowy cloudy every time we had spaghetti. It wasn't until I was older that I tasted Parmigiano Reggiano ... sheep vs cow. Both divine.

[Jenna]

I love bread and cheese, I'm eating a cheese sandwich now. It looks like a farmer's market, that is another love story.

[Jeannie]

I am eating Bing cherries as I type - yum! I love ficelle and like you, would love to have that body type. Due to too much cheese and bread, I am a batard. ;) Valencay is music to the ears and honey on the tongue. My brother shudders and claims that I only eat stinky cheese. Of course, he thinks good cheese is the stuff made by Kraft and wrapped individually or in a box and looks like rubber (ick, ick!!!) Thanks for making me hungry. I'll go have some stinky cheese with stinky olives and bread. ;)

[Jill Flory]

Yum. Now you have me wanting to make baguettes!

[suesue]

Hmmm, bread and cheese and fresh fruit for supper. Perfection.

[Judy]

Oooh~I love the cherries picture!!

[Lemon Verbena Lady]

I have done a bunch of posts about my French vacation last year. What a wonderful time and your post is bringing back memories as well. Thanks for sharing Corey! xxoo Nancy

[pam in oregon]

Your post today inspired me to go pick up a couple of new cheeses. I love cheese, but I have only begun exploring unusual (to me) cheeses. I picked up a Garlic Cheddar and turned the package over to learn more about it. I noticed right away that it was from Willows Calif., so I had no choice but to buy it because I thought of you. It's very good, and tomorrow I'll try it in a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup. MMMmmm.

[jend'isère]

The love story is of that last blackboard exposing years of various freshness written upon its surface!
PS. Summer chuckle: My daughter ate a wrap at McDo called "Chevre". Imagine a tourist with a dictionary trying to understand its contents. My girl decided that would make their "Cheeseburger" a cow-cow.

[Brother Mathew]

That dirty batard! That dirty bastard. Bastard. Basterd!
Damn Batard. Damn Bastard! Bassturd. You Bastard.

Got that out of my system.

[rebeccanyc]

Rules on how to cut the cheese....oh how well I know about this! The first time I ever visited France, I was a volunteer at a Medieval Castle restoration project. There was one French guy in particular, who despite his hippy hair and lifestyle, was very very particular about how the cheese was cut, and was convinced that Americans knew NOTHING about cheese since " all your cheese is orange, comes in individual slices and is wrapped in plastic"...on and on and on he went, at every meal. It's a big joke between us now, but at the time, it was tiresome to be scolded everytime I tried to get a bite of cheese.

Oh, the bread! I like to get the bread here in our village that is called "Sanilhacoise" because it is the tradition of the village to make it that way...a darker crust, maybe some whole wheat mixed in? We leave on Saturday, and I miss it already.

[French la Vie]

Hi Mat
I could see your face as I read this, and lol all along the way.
And I'm still laughing.
You're nuts!

C

[Cackieo]

What a lovely start to my day. Merci!

[Amee]

Last summer I was sitting at a cafe in Nice. From the angle of the table chair where i sipped my cappucino the first thing I saw as people approached were their shoes. Americans are easily identifiable by their footwear!

[Peggy Braswell]

Cheese + bread + fruit + flowers! My favorite things. Fabulous pictures.xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

[Laura]

YUM! Everything looks just delicious and beautiful.
Except the lady's outfit. :)

[Sharon Penney-Morrison]

hahahahahaha I love it.

[Sharon Penney-Morrison]

I don't think it was the scarf that caught my eye....just sayin.
Love cheese. I even carry cheese stick in the car for a quick pick me up.

[cindy]

Oh my goodness...totally agree with your choice of bread...and how do the french wear their scarves? How about a post on that one?!

[baies de goji]

Will love to have my own bread and cheese love story!

[Mary]

Corey, I always learn so much from you and have so much still to learn. Lovely, mouth-watering market photos.

A baguette, however, is the one and only baguette = a wand!

The others are not types of baguettes, but variations on a loaf.

Vive le pain!

[kath @ froid commercial]

Lovely photos, I never have time to go to wet market I usually buy fruits and bread in a mall or in a grocery store. I love reading your blog.