Cheese Overdose

Posting my scarce notes about my recent trip to the French Alps, I somehow managed to neglect the most important part of any trip to France. What comes as a next-to-last course of any distinguished dinner? When most of us will take time to answer this question, the actual answer is very trivial for any French person. Cheese, of course. Yes, cheese can be a separate course during a long dinner ceremony. It usually comes after a main dish and just before you are ready to tempt yourself with a dessert. You will most likely get a plate of various types to choose from. My curiosity always took a hold of me and I tried a little piece of everything that was offered... Tomme, reblochon, assortment of chevre, comte, vacherin mont d'or, Saint-Marcellin... just to name a few. Simply delicious! Just remember never ask anybody at the table how this cheese was made. Otherwise, when you are enjoying a bite of a particularly smooth and buttery texture and starting to appreciate that rich an unique flavour, you are risking to find out that, in fact, all the mentioned above qualities, you so much enjoyed,

are attributed to little warms that live on top of the cheese and can easily be seen with a help of a magnifier. Believe me, even though everyone around you will be very eager to share this information, you might not be ready for it, just yet. Save this sort of discussions for when you become a real gourmand and cannot imagine eating cheese if it does not stink or does not have a fungus growing inside it. It is like an aged vintage wine from a very good year. You need to appreciate it and once you do, it stays with you for ever...