Le fromage français… berk or miam?!

Le fromage français. French cheese. Anybody who’s anybody knows about the reputation and pride the French carry for their cheese. There are more than 1,200 cheeses produced in France according to the Centre National Interprofessionnel de l’Economie Laitière. DAMN. Now that’s a lotta cheese!! So no wonder you, lost étranger, are all alone and confused in the supermarket looking at all the different types of fromage you can buy. And I’ve been there, trust me. How does one choose? Stink factor? The stinkier the better?

Well, when I moved to France I really had no idea what or how to choose. And I chose a random cheese that had nice authentic-looking packaging: le camembert le rustique. And… I hated it. Not only that, but it stunk up my whole apartment (well, the equivalent of an “apartment” that I had, c’est-à-dire ten meters squared. Yes, ten). And I wondered, ‘why do people buy cheese that reeks?!! It’s not even good!’ And life went on and I stuck to goat cheeses that didn’t stink as much. But then, camembert came crawling back into my life again, this time at a dinner party. That time, I didn’t not like it. I tolerated it, I knew it. I didn’t hate it. But still, I wouldn’t buy it. And life went on and camembert would randomly show up in my dinner party life. And I would have a piece here, a piece there - and I started to like camembert. And then, one fateful day I decided I wanted to buy camembert. Yes, peu importe that it would stink up my studio for 5 years. I actually LOVED camembert. The delicious gooeyness melting in your palate... miam!!

But now I sit here pondering why I love camembert so much. How did I go from hating it to loving it? I’m still not sure. Is stinky cheese an acquired taste? Does it have to do with accepting the fact that what you’re eating smells like crap? Is it just a sign of becoming a parisien? Or an adult?? Not sure, but I do know one thing: I sure do love stinky cheese!

Share your stinky cheese stories below!!

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