Cheeses
Cheese is indisputably one of the pillars of France’s gastronomic heritage. There are said to be more than 1200 varieties. In the Brie family, the “king of cheeses”, the Brie de Ville Saint-Jacques (also known as the Brie de Montereau) may not be as famous as its cousins in Melun and Meaux, which have a Protected Designation of Origin, but it has plenty going for it. Our local area is also a melting pot of many cheeses made with sheep and goat’s milk, as well as specialities made with one of our star products – barley sugar.
Brie de Ville Saint-Jacques.
Made from cow’s milk, this is a soft-paste cheese that has a bloomy rind with reddish pigments. It has very fruity aromas. It is matured for one month. It is no longer made in Ville-St-Jacques, but in the area of Montereau. In Ville-St-Jacques small goat’s milk cheeses are now produced.
Nanteau and Paley.
These are two farmhouse cheeses made with sheep’s milk. Paley is a smooth cheese with a bloomy rind. As it matures, a thin, white to cream-coloured rind forms, while its paste turns an ivory colour. Nanteau is a soft-paste cheese with a bloomy rind. Its flavour is mild, with notes of spring. Today, it can be bought at Bergerie de la Fontaine Clairette in Nanteau-sur-Lunain.
Barley sugar cheeses.
- Fontainebleau cheese flavoured with the barley sugar elixir of the nuns of Moret. A delicious (and local) marriage of cream and liqueur that brings out notes of dried fruit. This dessert will excite your taste buds (to be consumed in moderation).
- Le Morétain, with the barley sugar of the nuns of Moret.