Fromage is French for Cheese Trivia Quiz

Answer: Meunster

The town of Meunster in Alsace got its name from a 7th century monastery. It is in a region that has changed hands between Germany and France a number of times, currently a part of France. Meunster cheese (also known as Meunster-gérômé, after the last two regions in which the tradition of using cheese to pay debts survived into the 17th century) is made from unpasteurised milk, according to the description for its Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC), the official designation of the how the cheese must be made in order to use the name.

The cheese is formed into rounds, which are stored in damp cellars and periodically washed with brine to develop their crust. The washes also help to ensure that the culture that is smeared on their surface spreads evenly, and produces the distinctive strong taste associated with Meunster cheese.

Answer: Mont des Cats

Mont des Cats is a hill near the town of Godewaersvelde, best known as the site of the Trappist abbey where this cheese has been produced since 1890. It is a firm pressed cheese with small holes, and an orange rind that is produced by adding roucou, a dye derived from annatto seeds, to the salt water washes during the month or more of maturation.

Answer: Port Salut

Like Meunster, Port Salut is a smear-ripened cheese, with a distinctive orange rind, produced by wrapping the cheese in wax-impregnated cloth as it ripens. the cheese is mild, but often has a strong odour due to this rind. It was first made in the 19th century by Trappist monks at Port-du-Dalut Abbey in the town of Entrammes.

Answer: Pont-l'Évêque

You probably won't be surprised to hear that this cheese, which has been made since at least as long ago as the 12th century, was originally manufactured in the commune (township) of Pont-l'Évêque, which is now in Basse-Normandie. Unlike many (possibly more familiar internationally) cheeses from the region, it is formed into rectangular blocks. It is a soft cheese, creamy in texture and pale yellow in color, with a white rind that has a slight orange tinge. The AOC designation requires that they be matured for at least two weeks, during which time they must be washed and turned regularly.

Answer: Camembert

First made near the end of the 18th century in the Norman town of Camembert, this is a soft cheese with an edible white rind that feels sort of furry to the touch. The curds are placed into shallow cylindrical molds around 10 cm (4 in) in diameter, from which the whey is drained for two days before the surface is sprayed with a solution containing Penicillium camemberti, the mold responsible for its distinctive appearance and texture.

The rounds then mature for a minimum of three weeks, and the finished cheese is traditionally packaged in a wooden case.

The AOC for Camembert de Normandie requires that it be made from unpasteurised milk, but for health reasons most modern camembert is made from pasteurised milk.

Answer: Brie de Meaux

I specified brie de Meaux (from the French town of Meaux) to help players distinguish between brie and camembert - the two are very similar, since the first camembert production was based on a method brought into the region by priests from Brie! Brie is usually formed into wheels that are significantly larger than a camembert, and is then sold in wedges, rather than as an entire round. Brie de Meaux has been produced since the 8th century, and was given AOC protection in 1980.

There are many cheeses produced (around the world, not just in France) which use the name brie, and they are all the same basic style, but with subtle differences that a true cheese expert can detect.

Answer: Boursin

Boursin is a brand name for a cheese resembling cream cheese, which has had flavours added to it. François Boursin took his inspiration from a traditional party dish in which fromage frais, a very soft unripened cheese, is mixed with any of a selection of flavouring ingredients.

His first flavour was garlic and fine herbs (basically parsley and chives); more recent additions to the line include cranberry and spice and red chili pepper.

Answer: Délice de Bourgogne

Another recently-developed cheese, Délice de Bourgogne was first produced by Fromagerie Lincet in 1975. Triple cream cheeses have extra cream added to the milk used to make the cheese. The mixture must contain at least 75% butterfat, which leads to a finished cheese with around 40% fat content. (Double cream cheeses, which also have cream added during processing, have between 60% and 74% butterfat.) A description of the cheese would sound much like brie or camembert (or a number of other cheeses which have not found their way into this quiz, such as Brillat-Savarin).

Answer: Raclette

Raclette is both French and Swiss, coming from a mountain region which is divided between the two countries. It is a semi-hard cheese which is traditionally heated until it starts to melt. The softened cheese is then scraped off onto a piece of bread or a plate, a process which gives the cheese its French name, since "racler" is the French verb meaning to scrape.

In the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, it is called "Bratchäs", meaning roasted cheese.

Answer: Roquefort

The AOC regulations governing exact conditions which must be met before a cheese can be called Roquefort are quite precise: the milk must come from sheep that have been in pastures in a specific region, must be supplied at least 20 days after lambing, and must be unpasteurised and unfiltered; the process of making the cheese must take place within the commune of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, using Penicillium roqueforti from the natural caves in that region.

The last two requirements were added in 1961 to the original AOC granted in 1925.