(39) Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

Well, except for the fireworks, you might know this from a 2005 film called V for Vendetta; and yes, this title is not too original at this time of the year. Anyway, this lovely film reminds me of many others from the Hollywood of the late 1930’s to very early 1950’s when dialogue was important and prominent, and the filmography used dark tones. I really like this movie, I think this is a good watch and very enjoyable with a good story.

Very recently I went on holidays, I should say that I do not enjoy working on my birthday and much prefer to be away. And then I can combine this time usually to go and see my family in France including my godson, in brief I can relax. So, in all, this is a good time to reflect and think back.

Somewhere near Roanne at this time of the year

Naturally, I think of cheese and my own experience relative to this amazing product of multiple faces. When I was very young and innocent, I did not know about my family really and this was to my detriment in a way, even though I was much too young to appreciate it, I can remember now going to elementary school, just down the road from my family house but this felt like halfway to the end of the world at that time, and I was enjoying some rudimentary flavoured cheese. I should not have eaten the cheese before at least reaching the school, but it was nice, and I liked it. To be perfectly honest I might have eaten some of it sometimes, or I could have only checked which cheese I would get for my break, my memory is a bit fuzzy about this but very clear about the joy of having some cheese. Yes, this was not a traditional cheese you might say, but I was about 5 years old, and this industrial bit of processed cheese felt somewhat personal to me.

My family history is a bit out of the ordinary, and maybe not on the right side, but there are many others with worse conditions. I can still remember going to the local square market, down the road not far from the school, with my mother and looking at fresh products, fruits, and vegetables notably. Obviously, cheese was the main curiosity for me, I recognised some from one week to the next, and I was fascinated from the variety of shape and look, and the fact that there was always some new one that I did not see before. Here I should say that I was lucky as the local cheesemonger was very good, and his two sons expanded the business and are very well-known with customers worldwide.

I can still remember the Camembert kept on top of the refrigerator, in its own special box, that was kept especially for my father; and I was specifically told: “not for you!” I believe that I managed to have a taste, and yes, I found it quite strong compared to the pieces of cheese that I used to eat. Good food was part of my life from a young age, and cheese was one of the main ingredients. I was lucky to live in the middle of France, I can sympathize nowadays with people from different countries who were brought up in a different culture.

If you can guess the countries referred to: some were used to cheese used as ingredient in their dishes, some were used to eat small quantities as tasters (with a good variety of sheep’s milk cheese), some were used to have diverse industrial products including some imports sold in large stores, and then you had some used to buy their cheese in supermarkets wrapped in plastic coating and shaped like bricks with a more or less acidic flavour. These might be clichés, but essentially are true. A few weeks ago, I met a cheese taster at work, and he expressed some biased opinions towards the French cheeses that I presented, and by the same token towards French cheesemongers’ taste. I can say that we are as good as our understanding of taste, and I understood perfectly where he was coming from. After all, the renaissance of English cheese dates from the 1980’s…

When we are young, and this up to our teens, we learn taste and flavour and assimilate the palate that will define the rest of our live. This will evolve slightly but we will always go back to the same principles and define our comfort food up to the point when we are very old and start losing a good part of palate, with the sense of smell first. I found that to defend proper traditionally made cheese, you need an interlocutor that can understand, and accept, what you are saying, mainly about cheesemaking and seasonality or weather conditions.

One of the main problems is the look and shape of the finished product. I deal in good quality made products and some customers have to accept that these are not machine made with a bland taste and flavour. The artisan making these cheeses will always go for quality and adapt to the local conditions in order to have a proper product respecting its history and origin.

Taste and flavour are personal, and every person is different. Remember that traditional cheese is the product of a specific area and a beautiful history, mostly made by passionate people. The end product should be enjoyed.

So, enjoy the fireworks, this will be back next year, traditionally at the same time…