There’s a Cheese War Going On in France
In fact, cheese has been an integral part of French history for two millennia. As early as the 1st century BCE, the historian Pliny the Elder enthused about the cheeses brought back from France by occupying Roman legions. Charlemagne was fond of Roquefort; Louis XVI, fleeing for his life, made the fatal error of stopping to snack on cheese; Napoleon lopped the top off a pyramid-shaped Valençay because it recalled his humiliating defeat in Egypt – these and other stories are part of the nation’s fabric and identity, from the cheesemaker’s barn to the bourgeois’ table. As one expert observer has noted, the country’s entire history can be seen in the light of traditional, artisan cheesemaking “as a constant interaction between morals and politics.” In sum, he says, French cheeses provide a strong sense of identity and continuity.
And of course, France is aggressively patriotic about its cheese, as it is with many things (after all, “chauvinist” is a French word). The idea that other nations might come close to French perfection is risible, with possible allowances for Italy (mozzarella) and Greece (feta). We might give a grudging hat-tip to the British for Cheddar, but Americans? Why, their cheese comes in tubes.
Language, or rather phraseology, is a problem here, because “American cheese” is not only a collective noun but a specific descriptor for the plasticky orange-colored substance often found on hamburger patties. (An online search starting with “American cheese is…” will offer top-line results such as “… not cheese,” “plastic,” or simply “…bad.”) On a related note, think of the number of idiomatic Americanisms in which “cheese” has negative connotations (“cheesed off,” “tough cheese,” “cheesy grin” to name but a few). But to associate the U.S. entirely with processed or industrial products is obviously unfair and deliberately blinkered. In particular, it ignores a vibrant artisan cheese movement…
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