The last post was about French wine so I thought I ought to give French cheese (fromage) a bit of a mention – especially as there seem to be almost as many varieties of cheese as there are wine!
They also have the same kind of regulatory body. Anybody can make cheese – or wine – but if you want it to be recognized as quality you need to abide by certain rules and regulations. If you do, you get your A.O.C. (Appellation d’origine contrôlée) which effectively translates as certified by the area of origin.
Or in other words, it’s quality stuff!
There is only one area in France that has both an AOC for its wine and its cheese, and that’s Valençay in the Loire valley. The Valencay cheese is a goats cheese and it’s called a pyramid (pyramide) because of its shape. The grey covering is ash (from various eaves), which helps preserve it and adds to the flavour.
So we have French cheese, goats and pyramid, but where does Napoleon come in?
Well it’s a story that explains why the pyramid has a flat top. Whether it’s true or not is anybody’s guess but it’s a fun tale so here goes:
Napoleon quite fancied being ruler of Egypt apparently, and off he went to war – as he did quite often. However, whether it was the sand or the heat or the Egyptians themselves, he had a pretty dreadful time. Took a bit of a battering and came home with his tail between his legs.
On his return to France he went to see his foreign minister, Charles Maurice De Talleyrand. Talleyrand lived in the chateau at Valençay and, of course, put on a feast for the Emperor.
Which wasn’t the good idea it might have seemed because at the end of the meal, out comes the cheese. Not a problem you might think, but the Valençay cheese is in the shape of a pyramid and that’s wasn’t something Napoleon wanted to be reminded of right then!
The story goes that he leaped up in fury, drew his sword and sliced the top off the pyramid – and it the cheese has been that shape ever since!
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