9 Delicious Destinations For Cheese Lovers Around The World
Cheese. Let that roll off your tongue. Yum. There are more than 1,800 types of this humble dairy product around the world. There are cheese guilds, cheese awards, cheeses protected by law, and cheeses steeped in tradition. There is hard cheese, smelly cheese, runny cheese, and even moldy cheese. There is cheese that ought to be grated and sprinkled, other cheese that is simply perfect for melting and forming crispy layers, and lots of cheese that is perfect just on its own. It seems that the world runs on cheese. At the very least, it would not run half as enjoyably without it.
Every country in the world has its own cheese and tends to be proud of it. But there are some countries where cheese-making truly has been raised to an art form, with so many cheeses that picking a favorite results in severe stress.
I am a dedicated cheese lover — except for moldy cheese. I hate moldy cheese. But I shall let you onto a secret: I did not really enjoy cheese (bar the gooey, melted stuff on my pasta, pizza, or gratinated potatoes — basically, cooked cheese) until I went on a gourmet food walking tour in Hobart, Tasmania, of all places. Part of the walking tour was a cheese tasting and I thought, when in Rome, as you do, and tried them all. I never looked back. Then, I moved to France and really made up for lost time. So, lesson learned? It’s never too late to start loving cheese.
Here are some of my favorite destinations around the world for cheese lovers, in no particular order.
Brie cheese at the Eiffel Tower
Photo credit: Maria Vonotna / Shutterstock.com
1. Northern France
Camembert, Brie
Probably the most widely known and exported French cheeses are the two round-flat cheeses which are often mixed up by foreigners, looking reasonably similar. Camembert and brie are both from the gourmet heaven of northern France. As a very basic guideline, camembert is smaller and stronger tasting than brie, and is often baked as a delicious starter. Brie is milder, much larger,…
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