Reblochon

On our first night in Paris (a Friday) we sat out on the balcony of our temporary apartment drinking wine and eating cheese and bread.  We decided to make it a tradition, and now most Fridays are wine, cheese, and bread night.  We both tend to pick the same sort of cheeses -- blue cheese for J and Brie, Camembert, or some sort of hard, nutty cheese like Comté for me.  I’ve started trying to pick some new cheeses for us to have on Fridays, especially since becoming friendly with the woman that works at my favorite fromagerie.  One of our new favorites is Reblochon, a raw cow’s milk cheese.

Reblochon is from the Savoy region of France.  Historically, the landowners in that region would tax the peasant farmers who worked the land according to the amount of milk produced by the farmers’ cows.  To reduce the amount they owed, the farmers would not fully milk the cows on the day when the landowners calculated the tax.  They would covertly finish milking the cows later, yielding richer milk that was used for making cheese.  The resulting cheese was called Reblochon because blocher was local slang for milking a cow and the cheese was the result of re-blocher or re-milking.  This story dates back to the 13th century, but Reblochon is still a rich, creamy and delicious cheese even when it is not part of a conspiracy to evade taxes!