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June 06, 2005
Saint Marcellin (not Banon)
Small confession - I bought this cheese on a whim and only because I liked the little ceramic dish it was in. Little did I know what kind of a treat I was in for!
Let me give you a little background. Saint-Marcellin and Banon are two cheeses which used to be made primarily from goat or milk. Nowadays, Saint-Marcellin is usually made from cow's milk while Banon can be either cow or goat milk. They are both French cheeses, soft, so soft that they might actually fall apart if not handled carefully. I guess this explains the little dish that the Saint-Marcellin I got came in. However, the more traditional way of providing structure to this cheese is by wrapping it in grape or chestnut leaves. The leaves are usually pre-dipped in wine. This gives the cheese a very deep flavor, almost bitter, but in fact very nutty and fruity. (I don't know, maybe these descriptions such as "nutty" and "fruity" come natural to a cheese expert. It is starting to seem that it just kind of clicks - learning about cheese as an epiphany!) It spreads on bread like soft butter and tastes delicious!
Saint-Marcellin - view from the top:
Again:
Saint-Marcellin wedge, cut out:
Note: the pieces of bread featured in the picture are miniature pumpernickel bread cocktail slices. They are about an 1.5"x1.5" wide. This makes the cheese about 2-3" in diamater. It might look big and it tastes big, but it's tiny!
Steven Jenkins recommends eating this cheese with olives, which turned out to be the right thing to do. It was, in fact, really good.
I am not sure exactly where the particular Saint-Marcellin I got was made. The cheese came with no label and even Murray's Cheese didn't provide any information. I'll have to ask them next time I go, but in the meantime, if you know, please tell.
Posted by maggie at June 6, 2005 10:27 PM