Raclette or the Art of Scraping Cheese

On a beautiful day recently, myself and my roommate Laura Riggs took our show on the road. After a perhaps foggy morning (read also: much libation consumed the night before) we decided to enjoy the regional speciality of raclette. Now I have bought a cheese at the grocery store called Raclette and it is this cheese that forms the basis of this dish.

Raclette is a very firm and smooth cheese, that melts well. The first time I bought it, the woman asked (in French) if I knew how to eat it. (with my mouth, I thought) Turns out you want to melt it on potatoes or meat. I made the best grilled cheese baguette, let me tell you.

So our responsable (supervisor) Andre was the one who told us about the restaurant and given that he has not steered me wrong yet – off we went.

The first thing that hits you when you walk through the door is literally a wall of odoriferous cheese smell. I had a bit of trouble breathing for a few minutes. We realized that the strength of the cheese wave was due to the presence of Maroille on the menu. (A side story on the presence of this cheese is that one of the guides bought and it was consumed during an evening of drinking. Another guide strongly believed someone had stepped in the ever-present dog poo and went around checking everyone’s shoes. The cheese is strong and smelly.)

We order the raclette nature and the waiter immediately jumps into action. He’s plugging in cords, bringing us a new table, and it’s lunchtime so everyone else is eating much lighter than us and not getting the raclette setup. Oh feeling like tourists.

Special Raclette tools

The arrival of the inedibly large piece of cheese, followed by learning just how close to put the hot iron that is in the side of the little ‘cheese house’ – success — melted cheese!

This is not just a cheese dinner. We were brought a bucket of steamed potatoes and a plate of charcuterie (it is fancy for cold cuts)

This was an impossibly delicious way to spend a lunch hour with Laura. We were both quite pleased with everything.

The one challenge was – are we breaking culinary/cultural taboos to not finish the cheese?

Othering with Pop

Things in France are alternately foreign and familiar. My belief is that Canada, as a European colony, likely bears the cultural mark of both the French and English. (I think John Ralston Saul said something like this.)

Which is why I was so surprised to see the following Orangina labels. I decided to taste and photograph them all, to share with you at home.

This flavor is peach – if you have read ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ this fits. There are certain comparisons made within the text between a woman’s sexuality and the ripening of fruit.

It seems that the flavours are in pairs – Samurai is lemon flavored and probably my second least favorite.

This may be actually my favorite flavor. Imagine Orangina with black currant grenadine. The image is clearly classist.

These last two defy academic or even playful description. There is supposed to be a cowboy flavor (in pairs, remember?) but it is mint flavored orange juice and I forgot to take the picture when I bought it. It is awful!

I will leave off with this. Orangina is very popular here in France and Belgium ( I did not see it as much in Britain) But what we are seeing are culturally appropriate images. No one thinks they are being offensive.

What would Canadian Orangina look and taste like?

Ten cheeses on a plate

The markets yield many delicious treats and surprises. I made friends with a bee farmer who said that if Chris and I follow through on our plan and become self sufficient individuals – then we can trade honey. There are trucks filled with all kinds of vegetables, fruits, meats, and cheeses. The most surprising truck is the one that opens to reveal a whole wall of rotisserie chickens — turning on spits, on the side of the truck.

The cheese is the challenge I have undertaken while here. At home – cheese is expensive, somewhat flavourless, and I find it lacking somehow. It turns out that it is because mass production methods have made us accustomed to an inferior product. In France, even the stinky cheeses are somewhat coquettish – under their mantle of green, grey or white fuzz.

Before I get ahead of myself and lead you to believe that I have somehow acquired the taste for science project cheese – fret not. I am still a self confessed ‘pussy’ when it comes to cheese. However – now I eat rind 😛

This beautiful woman, who is clearly France’s answer to their lack of Joan Jett sold me a third of a kilo of what Becky and I believe to be ‘Petit Savoie des Pyrenees’. Unlike other proprietors and venders at the ‘marche’ she didn’t have a truck/van/commercial vehicle. It would appear that she sold me the cheese out of the trunk of the sedan pictured.

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It was with great effort that I assembled the ten cheeses pictured. Laura, roommate extraordinaire, helped with the addition of a jeune Gouda, wrapped Camembert, and the slab of pate. The young Gouda was buttery and much stronger than a young cheese that we are used to. I ate some of the rind of the Camembert (bravely) and it was tasty. The pate was peppery and a bit chunky – not like the strange meatloaf textured pate I had another time.

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The other cheeses were: Tomme Noire des Pyrenees which is a delicious find – it is like a mild Havarti but with a super bad ass black rind; Boursin – same as at home except there are a whole lot more flavours here and it is super cheap (which makes it extra delish); Passendale which tastes like Gouda and Havarti made a delicious baby; Cheddar (best orange cheese ever); Emmental (Swiss); Coumilliers – a delicious brie like cheese – and I ate some rind and last but not least Beaufort – a cheese that seems to shift in flavour profile every time I enjoy it. I purchased it from a cheese truck, from a nice man who laughed when I asked for his suggestion about ‘un fromage moins forte regionalle’

I rounded out my supper with crostinis that I made myself, an Italian Clementine and some Orangina (the racist kind)

Whew – it was almost as hard to get this post together as to eat this much cheese in one sitting. We have been having Internet problems.