Valençay cheese

Historically, this practice was used to prevent unwanted microbial life from infesting the cheese on the outside, but it also acts to soften the sharp, tart edge of the caproic and caprylic fatty acids, maybe change it to a more subtly mushroomy flavor.

Or at least this is how it's described for the classic examples, which include French staples like Valençay and Sainte-Maure de Touraine.

There's also an American craft cheese called Humboldt Fog, and I think that was the inspiration of this cheesemonger.

It features both an exterior ash coating and line of ash running through the center of the cheese.

Heavenly marriages are made in Burgundy between red and white wines of both Côte, D'Unuy, and De Bona, and Burgundian cheeses such as Époisses, Saint-Martern, and Saint-Florentin, Pont-l'Évêque, and Poor Salou seem to be made for each other, as do Château Margaux and Camembert.

A great cheese for a great wine is the rule that brings together in the neighboring provinces such notables as Saint-Maur, Valençay, Vadame, and the Loire wines Vouvray, Saumur, and Anjou.

Gruyere mates with Chablis, Camembert with Saint-Émilion, and any dry red wine, most commonly Claret, is a fit drink for the hundreds of other fine French cheeses.

Every country has such happy marriages, an Italian standard being Provolone and Chianti.

Saint-Maur-le- or Fromage de Saint-Maur-de-Touraine, France.

Made in Touraine from May to November.

Similar to Valençay.

Salamana, Southern Europe.