French Cheese - The Full Story

French Cheese: The Full Story is the most comprehensive episode Fabulously Delicious has ever made on French cheese — covering everything from the monastic origins of French cheesemaking to the raw milk collapse that has seen France lose ninety percent of its artisan cheese culture in a single lifetime. French cheese history, French cheese culture, practical French cheese guidance and a passionate argument for why one of the greatest food traditions in the world deserves your full attention. The episode begins with a statistic that stops most people in their tracks. Seventy years ago one hundred percent of French cheese was made from raw milk. Today that figure is ten percent. We go back to the beginning — the monastery cellars of the Benedictines and the Cistercians, the extraordinary story of Roquefort as the oldest legally protected food in the world, the history of Camembert and Brie, and the AOC and AOP system that protects French cheese today. The heart of the episode is a guide to the five families of French cheese — the framework that makes French cheese make sense. Fresh, bloomy rind, washed rind, pressed uncooked, pressed cooked and blue — each one explained through its most celebrated examples, from Époisses and Munster to Comté, Reblochon and Ossau-Iraty. The second half takes you on a regional tour of France through its greatest cheeses, goes inside the French fromagerie to explain exactly how to navigate one, covers how the French actually eat cheese and why they are right about almost all of it, and closes with the future of French cheese — the threats, the revival and why every choice you make at the cheese counter genuinely matters. If you have listened to the Fabulously Delicious episodes on Brie de Meaux, Abondance or Époisses, this episode is the full picture those episodes were drawn from. Search Fabulously Delicious on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for more French food stories every week. My book Paris: A Fabulous Food Guide to the World’s Most Delicious City is your ultimate companion. This is a new 2026 update for the book and you’ll find hand-picked recommendations for the best boulangeries, patisseries, wine bars, cafés, and restaurants that truly capture the flavor of Paris. You can order it online at andrewpriorfabulously.com  For those who want to take things further, why not come cook with me here in Montmorillon, in the heart of France’s Vienne region? Combine hands-on French cooking classes with exploring charming markets, tasting regional specialties, and soaking up the slow, beautiful pace of French countryside life. Find all the details at andrewpriorfabulously.com You can help keep the show thriving by becoming a paid subscriber on substack where you'll also get fabulous extra content. Every contribution makes a huge difference. Join here at Substack  Merci beaucoup! Newsletter Youtube Instagram Facebook Website  #FrenchCheese #FrenchCheeseHistory #FrenchFoodPodcast #FabulouslyDelicious