Bonjour French Market Friends,
There is a rich history surrounding many of the famous cheeses of 
France which is protected by the application of AOC (Protected Designated Origin) status. This is a control of the production to ensure cheeses continue to be made exactly as they were originally; no deviation is permitted. Each cheese is unique in its flavour and aroma, they evolved because of the countryside and the breeds of cows that adapted best to each region.
One of the oldest cheeses recorded in France is Cantal cheese from the Cantal 
Mountains in Auvergne region. This region Auvergne is named after the Arvernii, an important Gallic tribe that ruled a large region of south and western France, prior to the arrival of the Romans. They had a strong agricultural heritage and large herds of cows. The Cantal cheese is made from
milk drawn from the Salers breed of cows, a sturdy race that suited the mountainous region of Cantal. Cantal is only made with milk drawn from Salers cows that are fed hay cut between November and April. This cheese has a distinctive tart flavour, which is similar to cheddar. In fact, the French will have it that they taught the English how to make cheddar cheese. Cantal is made in a cylindrical chape with a dense yellow texture and dry pungent crust. The normal size is about 40kgs and the smaller version, referred to as a Petit Cantal weighs 8 kgs. It was introduced to table of the French King Louis XIV by one of his Marshals, The Duke Henri de Saint Nectaire who came from that region.
This week in addition to the Petit Cantal which we have in stock, we also have Bleu 
from the Auvergne, Comte from the Jura mountains, Raclette and Tomme from the Savoie Mountains, Beaufort d’Ete from Beaufortrain in the Tarentaise Valley, Roquefort from the hotter southern part of France and creamy gentle Brie from The Brie region to the East of Paris and many more cheeses for you to enjoy.
In our seafood products we have stock of squid ink, wild salmon fish roe, black lumpfish roe, caviar from Baerii sturgeon, white anchovies, wild smoked salmon and Ortiz tuna fish.
In our preserves range, we have received new stock of the 
preserves to accompany your cheeses in the 125g jars and the minis; fig preserve, pear preserve, plum preserve, onion chutney and tomato chutney. These add to our Bonne Maman range of jams which are imported from France. The range is naturally made without any preservatives.
In our bread and cakes range, we have fres
hly baked sour dough baguettes, madeleines flavoured with lemon zest, almond meringues, arriving tomorrow are more pigs’ ears (palmiers), pork scratchings and cheese straws. Our French patisserie range is back up to strength and we have a range of irresistible chocolate cakes and other treats to delight you.
Tomorrow we are expecting a new stock of fresh porcinis and farm eggs.
There 
are many famous recipes with Cantal cheese, today I decided to share a tasty vegetable dish in a cream sauce topped with a crust of grilled Cantal and roasted nuts. This dish can be served as a side vegetable dish or as a light main course. I suggest serving this dish with a Cheval Noir Sauvignon blanc from the Bordeaux region available from our shop.
I hope you have a great weekend,
Regards,
Suzanne and The French Market Team