It appears that I’m in “product review” mode lately. It wasn’t planned. It’s just that lately I’ve received some excellent products to try and I thought you might be interested in hearing about them. Last week, I told you about Chocomize, a very cool company that makes personalized gourmet chocolate bars. Today, I’m swinging to the other side of the spectrum and telling you about some excellent cheese that I’ve been sampling from Ile de France.
Ile de France Cheese has been importing gourmet French brie, goat cheese and camembert since 1936, when it was the first importer of French brie to the United States. The company uses the Ile de France name to promote Ile de France brand cheeses as well as other types of gourmet-quality French cheese that are sold under different labels and owned by the same parent company.
I have long been familiar with Ile de France’s brie, goat cheese and camembert, as they are readily available in my area supermarkets. What I hadn’t realized before was that several of the other “fancy French cheeses” in the cheese case, like Comté, St. Andre and Raclette, were also from the company. So, when the folks at Ile de France invited me to sample some of their cheese, I happily accepted, and chose one that I had never seen at my local market – St. Agur.
St. Agur is a soft, velvety blue cheese made from pasteurized cow’s milk in the French village of Monts du Velay. It has a mild, buttery flavor with just a hint of delicate sharpness. With a 60% butter cream content, it is considered a double-cream cheese. As you might expect, every bite is sinfully delicious. It’s a divine cheese that reminds me a little of a fine Italian gorgonzola dolce. Because it is so rich and creamy, St. Agur melts and spreads easily, making it a great choice for cooking. read more >>
