I guess it’s Old Europe week here on C+C, a brief interlude from our normal fall fare of cheddar, cheddar, and um, cheddar. Oh, and gouda. And washed rind stinkers. Okay, we love it all and we’ll eat it no matter the season. Today’s cheese was actually handed to me as I browsed in Whole Foods* last weekend. Thanks to the wonder of AT&T wireless coverage, I can’t use my iPhone in the store to access my handy “cheeses unsampled” list while I shop, so I didn’t even realize until I left the store that this was, in fact, one of the ones left on our list. A second trip to the store later, and I brought home this cute little package of tangy French goodness.
A classic cheese from France’s Alsace region, Grès des Vosges is technically a washed-rind though it is much less pungent than you might expect. It has the familiar yeasty fragrance, but a milder bite. It is rich and silky, like a good triple-cream turned deliciously sour. You’ll want to keep the accompaniments on the lighter side — think fresh fruit — so as not to overwhelm its flavors. Janet Fletcher suggests one of the “spicy, racy whites of Alsace, such as Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris.”
*I don’t know if there’s a connection, but it seems that cheeses Janet Fletcher writes about find their way into Whole Foods soon thereafter. First there was Quadrello di bufala, now Grès des Vosges.
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Though I get bad AT&T coverage in my house, thankfully it’s pretty good in the cheese shops!
Love your site, gorgeous photography and design — and clearly must try this cheese (any excuse to pop open some Pinot Gris…).
Loving the Fletcher-Whole Foods connection. Buffalo cheese in an American market is always a good thing. And oh Vosges, I’m ready to eat you again.
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