I always get a bit flustered when I go to my cheese shop. There are just so many choices, and I've slowly begun picking away at the selection, so there are fewer and fewer choices. For some reason I don't understand I've been avoiding the goat cheeses. I love goat cheese. I think it's wonderful. But it just doesn't excite me like the other unknowns do. But don't worry, next week I'll get a goat cheese. The rejection and avoidance has gone on long enough. And besides, I don't want to hurt the poor goat's feelings.
But for this week, we have the Coup de Coeur. I, apparently, cannot say it properly, because there was a decent amount of pantomiming and a lot of asking for something that was behind another cheese I also couldn't pronounce. Eventually the language barrier was chipped enough that I got my round of cheese and was happily carrying it home.
The Coup de Coeur is an allusive cheese. I was unable to find anything about it online. But from what I can gather it's a nice tasty little cow's cheese that comes rolled in finely chopped walnuts. There are two layers to the cheesy center, the outer one yellower than the white inside. The white heart is crumbly and sour, with a deep nutty flavor that mirrors the walnut coating. The exterior layer of cheese is softer, creamier, like a brie, with a similar flavor to the inside but more dainty, clean, and with an essence of fermentation. The three layers, walnut, creamy, and crumbly come together smoothly and with a nice complexity.
I wouldn't call this an exceptionally strong cheese, but it isn't any weakling either. The bitterness could be off-putting to some, but I find it pleasant and it certainly tastes great on a fresh piece of torn of bread from my local boulangerie. The walnuts are magnificent and, for me, remind me a bit of Christmas. I tasted it with a slice of fresh pear and it went wonderfully. The sweetness of the pear both accentuates the cheese and cleanses the bitter flavor from your mouth so that it doesn't linger too long and become unpleasant.
A nice cheese, but I don't know if I'd go on a second date with it. Maybe if I had a special hankering for walnuts. But considering that it was relatively expensive (almost 8 euros) I'm not too tempted to buy a second round.
Google told me that "coup de coeur" means something like "love at first sight." Is it safe to say that was a misnomer for this cheese?
ReplyDeleteWell I did have an intake of air, what one may call a gasp, when I read that it was covered in "noix" or walnuts. So yes, I may have been in love with it a first sight, but who ever said looks weren't deceiving. Good, but like I said, there are plenty of other cheeses here I would rather waste my calories on.
ReplyDelete