You might say I'm obsessed, as obsessed as anyone who is deprived of some of their favorite things could be. Sausage. Beer. Cheese. Cheese. CHEESE! No one does cheese better than the French- bacteria laden, stinky, oozy, foot smelling cheese.
So it really touched me when I learned that my roquefort-loving compatriots were petitioning President Obama to get past this stalemate. There are other blues out there, but nothing like the slightly acid, green-flecked cheese that only raw milk produced by sheep in the Lozere can make (read full letter from Congressman Oberstar of Minnesota here)
Adding insult to injury...
I am also deprived of the famous "WMD" from Northern France aka maroilles. For years, I've been told that once Europe gets their hands on the French cheese industry, maroilles would be one of the first to go. Being cheese* deprived for over 4 months now, and yes slightly obsessed, I was perplexed when Jerome came home one day with some PASTEURIZED Mont des Cats, a cheese made by monks in the Flanders. No, I said, but it CAN'T be pasteurized! Sacré bleu!
Yesterday as I was shopping for some maroilles to melt on some bread to fill the void (because melted raw milk is ok for pregnant women), I picked some up and, for some reason, read the label. LAIT PASTEURISé! I looked at my daughter in disgust who was equally looking at the cheese case in disgust since she hates cheese. I called my husband to announce the bad news. "You're calling me for this?".
Charles de Gaulle famously asked how one could govern a country that has over 2 million types of cheese (or something like that). So I'm thinking it's a conspiracy. Look at the facts. France was president of Europe in 2008. Cheese is being pasteurized left and right: camembert, Mont des Cats, Maroilles... and roquefort must not be too far down the line. Franco-American cheese relations have gone down hill with a 300% import tax on roquefort set by Bush Jr. It's Sarko's plan to take over the world...
I think I'll appeal to President Obama. I think he'll be interested in my cheese-conspiracy theory. And maybe it'll help that Congressman in Minnesota get his roquefort for dinner.
*refers to the unpasturized sort which is the only real kind
Friday 13 March 2009
Save the cheese, save the world.
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3 comments:
How funny, that's my Congressman, and I actually wrote a letter to him asking him to repeal the taxation!
I wish I could find the link now - I'd seen it on a blog. There was a site already set up that automatically filled in the contact info of your local sen/rep, and you could choose from a pre-made letter or writing your own.
I guess I'm a bad Ch'ti, because I hate Maroilles. Two memories about this:
1. One day, my family took a road trip to Avesnes where we bought a bunch of very stinky "boulette d'Avesnes" which is pretty much like an over-ripe Maroilles. We had to keep the car windows down all the way home!
2. Some years ago, during one of my yearly visits to France, my brother and his wife had me for dinner, and they served a tarte au Maroilles for an appetizer. I thought that I would get sick then and there, but I actually managed to eat what I had been served. I hope that this never happens again!
Elisabeth, are you saying I'm more chti than you?
Sam, please write to your congressman to support his efforts :)
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