Posted on 02/21/2009 3:25:31 PM PST by Cincinna
It was a typical globalization-era war that pitted tradition against profits. A large cheese factory wanted to change the Camembert recipe and began a dirty fight against small producers. This time, though, tradition emerged victorious.
When Luc Morelon was still convinced that this was a winnable war, he was willing to give interviews in his office on the 30th floor of the Montparnasse Tower, with its view of the Eiffel Tower and of a deceptively peaceful-looking sea of shimmering Parisian rooftops in the morning mist. "snip" he was no longer available for further attacks by the "self-proclaimed custodians of tradition," and that he was tired of listening to the chants of "the small against the big" and the constant talk of a "Camembert war."
Suddenly the world's most famous cheese was in jeopardy. It was a severe blow to French national pride. This was about France's culinary splendor, which like the beret, the bottle of wine and the baguette, is as much a part of the French self-image as it is a time-honored cliché. Until then, Lactalis and Isigny had together produced more than 80 percent of the true and unique "Camembert de Normandie"Now they were saying, after more than 100 years of tradition, that it was all over, that Camembert made with raw milk presented an imminent danger and was a health hazard. It was a declaration of war.
More than Just Camembert
At first, French newspapers and magazines devoted as much attention to the story as they would have to a terrorist attack in downtown Paris. In fact, it was characterized as a kind of assassination, an assault on culinary tradition and the attempted murder of small Camembert producers. At first, it was not about cheese but tradition, about so much more than Camembert.
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
Not really. I know how to “finish it off” under equally highly controlled conditions.
The Dutch (et al) have been smoking cheese since time began.
This is not like the difference between brown eggs and white eggs where "super tasters" can differentiate between high omega 3 brown eggs and low omega 3 white eggs.
Cheese is a processed food ~ and the process used, plus any bacteria or yeast, make all the difference.
Just today I went to the effort of slicing my special gluten free French buns to get four perfectly round 3/8 inch thick slices which I then dunked in a special brown egg batter suffused with maple sugar crystals from Canada, half a tablespoon of cinnamon, and some other secret ingredients.
I fried them up quickly as French toast then spread boysenberry preserves over the top of each delicate piece.
This was the first French toast I'd had in 3 years. They were excellent. This evening I took a couple of broccoli crowns and heated them a couple of minutes on high in the microwave. I then melted about 1/3 pound of extra sharp white Vermont cheddar over them.
They were fantastic.
Thankfully I will know whether it's the cabbage plant residue or a dangerous bacteria that creates extra space tomorrow. You can't say that for any of the raw milk afficionados.
You have to go over on the Loire to find old homes with running water toilets. Several of them were literally built over top of rivers for that purpose.
All the toilets in the old buildings in Europe are modern additions.
The old Fortress in Wurzburg Germany is worth seeing someday. It has no toilets anywhere, and may not even have had chamber pots.
Your culinary creativity sounds great.
Much French Cheese is not a processed food. Processed Cheese is.
I have nothing against it... I still love Velveeta for grilled cheese sandwiches myself.
http://www.cabotcheese.com/f1.php?left=menu-aboutus.html&right=awards.html
Not true. One of the great myths perpetuated against the French.
When Versailles was built by Louis XIV, it had over 200 bathrooms. If you go on a private tour of Versdailles, you can visit the private bathrooms of the Kings and Queens of France. Quite magnificent,decorated on four colors of gold leaf with three bathtubs in each, hot, cool, and rinse.
I have some pictures I took when I was there; if I can find them, I will post them.
The milk must be reconfigured from it's original state into something else. It's typically subjected to enzymatic change, or bacterial change, or yeast, or even volcanic dust.
The cheese may be squeezed, allowed to dry to a desired humiditylevel, or COOKED.
My lord, cooked cheese ~ before it's time!!!
The world is doomed.
I would imagine you are thinking of "processed" as being some sort of cooking. Enzymes, bacteria and yeast "process" it too.
I think what I am referring to is the site of the Palace before it was the seat of government, and you are referring to the "compound" (as we might call it) after it had been expanded and became the seat of government as well as a nice place to visit.
Louis XIV relocated the heads of the nobility to Versailles and they also made revisions to the structure.
Somewhere along the line Louis decided he needed to turn the palace into an income property and began peddling furniture. To provide the very best and most expensive furniture he opened up a lumber yard and sawmill in/at what is now Louisville KY.
Obviously it became nicer and nicer as time went on and finally received public toilets with its reincarnation as a MUSEUM. I was just reading they auctioned off most of the furniture in 1793 ~ with the result that this stuff is just everywhere.
LOL! He’s the only Camembert I recognize.
Promontory is great stuff. :) Haven’t been able to afford it in awhile.
Utah! Some of the best trout fishing anywhere. Nice people, too.
No beverage?
“Shut that bloody bazouki off!”
I like a bargain as much as anyone. I’ve pretty much given up on Stilton, these days; it’s just too expensive.
But our co-op in Montpelier sells something called Grafton Ends & Pieces, for a very modest price. It’s extremely good cheddar—also made from raw milk, I believe. Better than Cabot, which has gotten a bit bland. Grafton also does a smoked version.
Yes, we have some excellent specialty cheeses in Vermont, but most of them are really too expensive to buy very often.
Noted and thank you./Just Asking - seoul62......
I want to defintely visit France again. Thank you very much for the information, I have it noted./Just Asking - seoul62.......
“Not much of a cheese shop is it?”
One of my all-time favorite Python skits.
I suggest you read up a bit on French History. Is your comment a joke, a parody, or what?
Louis XIV inherited a hunting lodge in Versailles when his father Louis XIII died. It is now the Corps der Logis of the Chateau. He built the Chateau around it, as well asthe vast parks. It was always a private palace.
You say “Louis XIV relocated the heads of the nobility to Versailles and they also made revisions to the structure.” What did he do with their bodies? ;+}
It was never the “seat of government” . As Louis himself said “l’Etat, c’est moi!” “I am the State”.
You say “I was just reading they auctioned off most of the furniture in 1793 ~ with the result that this stuff is just everywhere”
A particle of truth in there. After the French Revolution, after the hoards stormed the Palace at Versailles, after Louis and Marie Antoinette and thousands of people nobility and commoner alike were guillotined. After all that, the government, what was left of it after they all assassinated one another, the government emptied the Rpyal Palace at Versailles and auctioned off the contents. The auctions lasted for more than a year.
The furniture was dispers3ed. bought by many rich collectors, including the British crown for enormous sums of money. It did not turn up in your local antique shoppe.
Much of the furniture has been bought up, rescued, as it were, by the American Friends of Versailles, and has now been returned to its original place.
The cheese ripening process is stopped once it leaves the aging caves.
After that, it just gets old.
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