Everyone knows Camebert. Tome du Savoie, etc. but how about Luc Perac (sp?). There are literally hundreds of superb cheeses in France and only a few are tried by the tourists.

Give up your taste selections so we can all try something "new". Hint: Corsican cheeses are very nice, so give it a try.

Blackduff

blackduff wrote: "Everyone knows Camebert. Tome du Savoie..."

I don't.

but how about Luc Perac (sp?).

It is Lou Perac and it is a newcomer on the cheese market (launched in 2006).

My favorite is Epoisses! Made in only a very few places in Burgundy, it's production was lost during WWII, and only come back in the last 50 years. Really stinky, but the flavor is superb! I have heard it is the only cheese that is forbidden to take on the Metro in Paris.

http://www.fromage-epoisses.com/

You can get it here in the States, but it is NOT the same as that made with raw milk. A friend bought five cheeses for me last time she was in Paris, and had to leave them with the hotel staff when she found she could not bring them back. No way she could have taken something that smelled "like the feet of angels" past customs.

I think, nukesafe, that similar claims are made about many cheeses. Many of those that most appeal to my palate smell like unwashed socks. One friend adopted the guideline that the worse it smelled, the more I would like it. It's more or less true.

Yes, but the unwashed socks of Angels, Padraig.

Enjoy the Epoisses while you can because I believe they are going to change the production methods..I brought some home to the US last fall with no problem...I do not believe it is illegal aslthough I may be wrong on that..

There ARE shops here in the US that sell imported raw milk cheeses although I have not seen any that sell raw milk Epoisses.

For a fascinating bit of information regarding Epoisses, and chapters on other "forbidden" foods as well (absinthe is another) , read "The Devil's Picnic: Around the World in Pursuit of Forbidden Fruit" by Taras Grescoe. A great read!!

This link has a fair few:

http://tinyurl.com/atud2

I wanted to try the Reblochon on my premier visit to Paris, but you had to buy a half a wheel at a minimum. This time I'm buying that half wheel on my first day, so I have the whole week to eat it!

If anyone is interested in a nice Scottish Cheese you may be interested in the Loch Arthur farm.
http://www.locharthur.org.uk/creamery.htm

cabécou
brebis du Lavort
thym tamaire
cancoillotte
lou sarriette
ossau-iraty
safran du Quercy

are some of my favorites.

I love the cabecou, too. Another one I like, although I guess it is pretty run-of-the-mill, is Fourme d'Ambert.

And now I will put in a plug for what just might be my favorite cheese in the world: Torta del Casar from Extremadura, Spain. Sorry, I know it is not French.

Clacbitou! My recent fave. Raw goat's milk, from Burgundy. It's a fairly new cheese, apparently (not to be confused with Chabichou).

Some years ago, my daughter -- I love her dearly but she's no angel --brought some cheese back in her suitcase packed in one of her boots.
No problem!

"packed in one of her boots" - I love that. What a great way to avoid suspicions. ;-)

Livarou (speling ?)
I thought that had an incredible aroma.

I'm glad you're back Blackduff...

My faves are Saint Marcellin, Saint Felician and Saint Nectaire.


I'm having withdrawl symptoms from cheese at the moment. Due to being pregnant I can't eat unpaturized cheeses - so I'm resigned to the plasticky or tasteless varieties. However, my fridge is not stinky anymore.

There was a good thread on this topic about a year ago...do a search here for reblochon and it should come up as the third or so thread.
My favorite French cheeses are all goat cheeses...Selle sur Cher, St. Maure, chevre camembert (of those three, chevre camembert is the hardest to findm just because there's a "camembert" in the name doesn't mean it's found everywhere). FYI, I believe it's "tomme de Savoie."
There is a wonderful little cheese shop near us (in Brussels, not Maidenhead) that carries about three dozen varieties of goat cheese in various shapes, sizes, and packages.
Reblochon still has an entertaining and informative web site:
www.reblochon.fr
My favorite Dutch cheese is cantenaar, which has less salt and fat than many other cheeses. Delicious shaved into paper thin slices and added to a salad. Or just eaten so in chunks. The closest "everyday" cheese in taste would be something like Vieux Bruges, but Cantenaar is much better (and much harder to find).

Many lesser known cheese IME simply stink

You say that like it's a bad thing.

no not all at - tongue in cheek as some of the best cheeses literally do stink and are great.