World Cup of Cheese: Team Comté or Team Paški Sir?

by dccheese on July 14, 2018

in belgian,British,Cheese!,Croatian,events,French

Any football-loving cheese fans out there? While we would’ve loved to see a South American team in the final, the all-Euro final four do make it a little easier to find cheeses to represent each nation. Yes, even Croatia! Here’s our pick for the final four du fromage. Of course it’s no easy feat to select only one French cheese, but our friends at Murray’s are hosting a Tour de Fromage (with giveaway!) all this month if you’re looking to round our your own French cheese collection.

In the runner up game, England v. Belgium, we present Montgomery’s clothbound cheddar v. Wavreumont:

World Cup of Cheese: England v. Belgium

There are English cheddars, and then there is Montgomery’s (Monty’s) clothbound cheddar. This extra-aged, extra-flavorful cheddar is savory and meaty, sometimes sweet, and always a delight. Third-generation farmstead cheesemaker Jamie Montgomery in Somerset makes this cheese from the milk of Friesian-Holstein cows and ages it for over a year; it sometimes has a line of blue mold through the paste.

Wavreumont comes from Belgium’s Fromagerie des Ardennes and is named for a monastery near the creamery that inspired the monastic-style washed-rind cheese. It’s supple and buttery and only mildly pungent as washed-rinds go. Pair with — what else? — a Belgian beer.

And for the big match, France v. Croatia, Saint Antoine Comté faces off against Paški Sir:

World Cup of Cheese | France v Croatia

Comté comes exclusively from the Jura mountains of France, made by approximately 150 small village cheesemakers known as fruitières. This particular specimen comes from Fort Saint Antoine, a 19th-century fort where the cheeses are aged by the renowned Jura affineur, Marcel Petite. It is smooth and sweet, and tastes of hazelnut, butter and apricot.

Paški Sir is an aged sheeps-milk cheese hailing from the Croatian island of Pag and its native Paška Ovca breed of sheep. It’s salty and butterscotchy in flavor and best paired with a red wine from Croatia, if you can find one. If not, Forever Cheese suggests a light- to medium-bodied red from Sicily, Slovenia or Greece.

? Which cheese/nation are you rooting for? Have other favorite cheeses from these countries? Pop over to instagram and chime in!

Photos of Wavreumont via Formaggio Kitchen and Paski Sir via Forever Cheese.

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