French Cheese (Again)

Once we hit forty, women have about four taste buds left: one for vodka, one for wine, one for cheese, and one for chocolate.

-Gina Barreca

Many months ago before Covid and social distancing, I brought two french cheeses from the 1000 Foods list. One is Chaource which is a soft cow’s cheese from the same region as champagne. It isn’t easily found so I purchased it off of Venissimo. We all agreed that this is a brie-like cheese but has more flavor and is infinitely more interesting that it’s brie cousin. It is also one of the cheese regulated in France with the AOC marking which as my friend Tara taught me, typically, bodes well for all things.

The other cheese I brought has to be assembled at home and is called Cervelle de Canut which means “brains of the silkworker”. I learned that there are really different takes on this but the dominant idea is that silkworkers couldn’t afford brains so they ate spreadable cheese.

The basis of this is a formage blanc or white cheese and goat cheese can be used if fromage blanc is not available. Every family, I have been told, has it’s own recipe and since my family does not have one, I borrowed the recipe from Daniel Boulod as published in Saveur. You can see the mixture for yourself, but it basically involves mixing herbs, oil, vinegar with the cheese which creates a very smooth, spreadable cheese. My favorite thing about these cheeses is eating them with my friends at 2nd Chance. I can’t wait for those days again…