So apparently cheeses can be accomplished too... Today, we've got two cheeses that have received certificates! Brie de Meaux and Pont-l'Évêque are both Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) cheeses.
The AOC is, according to Wikipedia, the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products. It is issued by the government bureau Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO). The INAO guarantees that all AOC products are produced in a consistent and traditional manner with ingredients from specifically classified producers in designated geographical areas. The products must also be aged at least partially in the respective designated area. Sounds pretty stringent to me... and I suppose it's an effort to preserve authenticity in French products. Not a bad idea for keeping a good reputation for the industry, I suppose.
Brie de Meaux
This is, as the name indicates, a cheese from the town of Meaux in the Brie region. (Doing research on this cheese made me realise for the first time that Brie is actually the name of a geographical location rather than just a name of food... ahaha.)
Its texture is like the standard brie cheese - soft and creamy. The difference is that its middle has some crusty, rind-like bits, although I can't seem to see these slightly harder bits visually.
I would say its taste is quite different from the standard brie though... it's not so much sweet and milky as opposed to winey... very much like white wine, so that was interesting.
Pont-l'Évêque
This cheese is also named after the geographical location where it came from - apparently there's a commune by the same name in France. It is apparently among the most popular cheeses in France, alongside
brie and camembert. I wonder why I've never heard of it until now.
Its texture is rather soft, almost creamy. It had a salty and acidic cream cheese taste, and was very pungent with a goat cheese-like flavour. However, it is apparently a cow's milk cheese, but is made from uncooked milk. Perhaps that accounts for its pungency.
One point of interest is that the AOC certifies that the milk comes from a controlled area around the village of Pont-l'Évêque.
Another interesting point that I read on Wiki was that it was first made in Normandy in the 12th century, and is one of the oldest Normandy cheeses still in production today. Really cool that we still get to taste 12th century food! Although, I'm not sure how much the process might have changed in between.
These AOC cheeses are pretty cool huh... I'm glad that we can buy them in local supermarkets!
The AOC is, according to Wikipedia, the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products. It is issued by the government bureau Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO). The INAO guarantees that all AOC products are produced in a consistent and traditional manner with ingredients from specifically classified producers in designated geographical areas. The products must also be aged at least partially in the respective designated area. Sounds pretty stringent to me... and I suppose it's an effort to preserve authenticity in French products. Not a bad idea for keeping a good reputation for the industry, I suppose.
Brie de Meaux
Its texture is like the standard brie cheese - soft and creamy. The difference is that its middle has some crusty, rind-like bits, although I can't seem to see these slightly harder bits visually.
I would say its taste is quite different from the standard brie though... it's not so much sweet and milky as opposed to winey... very much like white wine, so that was interesting.
Pont-l'Évêque
Its texture is rather soft, almost creamy. It had a salty and acidic cream cheese taste, and was very pungent with a goat cheese-like flavour. However, it is apparently a cow's milk cheese, but is made from uncooked milk. Perhaps that accounts for its pungency.
One point of interest is that the AOC certifies that the milk comes from a controlled area around the village of Pont-l'Évêque.
Another interesting point that I read on Wiki was that it was first made in Normandy in the 12th century, and is one of the oldest Normandy cheeses still in production today. Really cool that we still get to taste 12th century food! Although, I'm not sure how much the process might have changed in between.
These AOC cheeses are pretty cool huh... I'm glad that we can buy them in local supermarkets!
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