When the question came up if I would rather stay at home in the cold Canadian winter to study or come to France and go on wine and cheese tasting, the answer was obvious for me. I mean, was it really even a question. I love cheese!
Our cheese selection consisted of a variety of 8 different types. We started out with a lighter goat cheese and finished with blue. I have to say I enjoyed them all, but unfortunately was sick on the day that we went, so I may not have gotten the full flavor. But I will still try to describe them all the best I can!
Our first cheese, which would be the bottom left of the picture was a dry goat cheese, with the flavor of fleur de sel. This was not your typical goat cheese. It was a little bit more crumbly and just completely melted in my mouth. While our expert was describing the cheese, I learned that it actually takes 10L of milk per day just to make a small amount of this cheese!
Our second cheese, was a a sheep's milk cheese, called Loperon. I found this one to be somewhat similar to the goat cheese, although smoother. It especially paired with the white wine that we were served alongside the cheese. Thirdly, was the first "stinky" cheese of the day, which I unfortunately couldn't smell. The proper name for it is Ardi Losna. I found that it had a slightly saltier taste than the first two and the texture was quite different as it was a bit of a harder cheese.
Next came a cheese that was very strong in flavor, which I found to be somewhat similar to a cheese such as Parmesan. Very salty and very strong in flavor. This one was served with a very sweet fruit flavored jam. The way that this cheese is prepared is pressed and actually cooked, like an Emmental cheese.
Second to last, was a cheese that I found to be very similar to Brie and it is a washed cheese called Munster. I think that I was missing some of the stink factor to this cheese, as I could not smell or taste much of the flavor. It definitely wasn't the most popular one at the table, but then again there was the blue cheese at the end. I believe blue cheese is just one of those things that you either love or hate. I for sure love it.
If you are interested in going to La Cloche à Fromage to try some cheese on your own, you can either go to the restaurant like we did as a class and order some cheeses, or you can go into the store that's across the street. I would certainly enjoy a trip back to the restaurant to enjoy some cheese fondue!