We hit the cheese shop on Thursday, the day before we were to leave, and loaded up on a selection of cheeses that aren’t readily available in the US (or don’t taste like they should!). The cheese shop near my Uncle’s home is in the 11th Arrondissement. It’s called Le Jardin Fromager, which I think translates into the Cheese Garden, or the Cheese Gardner. It’s a neighborhood shop with an OK selection of cheeses. I had wanted to go to one of the larger shops in Paris, but just did not have the time.
They have a nice selection nonetheless, and my mouth just watered standing there looking.
Le Jardin Fromager
In the front case, they have all the soft cheeses – bries, camemberts, cabecou’s and more. It’s just a delight to see them, especially since they’re properly presented and all look properly aged. In the back, they have the aged cheeses – the Pyrénées, the large wheels, and other hard and semi-hard cheeses. Along the top at the left, you can see the Mimolette. They also have wine and sausages for sale. The smell when you walk in the door is just heaven – fresh, luscious cheeses!
I looked at what they had to offer, and decided on the following cheeses, which I will write about one at a time:
Abbaye de Belloc, an ancient Pyrénées sheeps milk cheese
Beaufort d’été, a Gruyère cow’s milk cheese
Laguiole, a cow’s milk cheese
Vieux Salers, an ancient cow’s milk cheese
Bethmale, a Pyrénées cow’s milk cheese
Tomme Corse, a artisanal sheeps milk cheese from Corse
We had friends over on Sunday to try these cheeses and some wines that I brought back, along with some Terrine de Canard. Yum!