Cheeses of France

One of the best parts about living in the Bay Area is that cheese & wine are easily accessible. Two of my favorite things in life. There is so much interest in this topic that a woman, Daphnes Zepos, actually opened up her own Cheese School of San Francisco. Here, different classes are offered about cheese where you can learn about the history, where it's from, what kind of milk is used in it, and what it pairs well with. Since french cheese is one of my favs, I decided to try out one of the classes.

Don’t knock the French for sometimes acting like the world revolves around them. In the case of cheese, they’re right. France is undeniably the historic and cultural epicenter of all things fromage. This class will cover the age-old grand dames, small production treasures, and extraordinary everyday wheels that put the ‘ooh-la-la’ in French cuisine. Instructor Colette Hatch

8 different types of cheeses were served with 2 types of wine (1 red, 1 white). The cheeses consisted of cow, goat, and sheep milk, starting from the lightest (a triple cream) to heaviest (sheep's bleu). My favorite of the night was at 1:00. This cheese is a goat's milk and is known as a soft-ripened type. The texture is soft & oozy. It pairs well with figs and white wine. The cheese itself is a mellow flavor, whereas the moldy rind adds a mushroomy taste to it.

Other interesting facts I learned:
1) Softer cheeses have less butter fat than harder cheeses.
2) When storing cheese, do not put in plastic such as ziploc bags. Always put in paper like wax paper and remember to change the wax paper every time you eat the cheese, because bacteria grows on the paper while it's in the fridge.