Cheese of the Week: Fromager d'Affinois

Photo and logo source: Fromager d'Affinois via their Facebook.

Fromager d'Affinois is a French, double crème, soft-ripened cheese that offers silky, smooth, mouthcoating creaminess and a decadently rich, buttery taste. Its paste is thick with an almost whipped consistency. Upon your first bite, you'll fall in love with its buttery, slightly-salty flavors and thin, mild-tasting rind.

Photo source: Fromager d'Affinois via their Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/fromagerdaffinoisAU/photos/710878676034807)

Made from pasteurized cows' milk and available in a variety of flavors using only the freshest ingredients, there is a d'Affinois for everyone to adore. Although Fromager d'Affinois is offered in mouthwatering flavors such as Truffle, Garlic & Herbs, Blue, and Red Chili Pepper, our favorite is the original, Le Fromager. This creamy, buttery and flavorful cheese is sure to please on its own. Fromager d'Affinois cheeses have been crafted by Fromagerie Guilloteau for over 40 years.

The story of Fromagerie Guilloteau begins nearly 14 years before the cheese company's formation by Jean-Claude Guilloteau, a French cheese maker. Through a key encounter between Guilloteau and scientists for the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, the creation of a special industrial process called ultrafiltration was developed and then patented in 1969. Guilloteau then went on to start his own company, Fromagerie Guilloteau in 1981 with a focus on producing an expanding line of top-quality cheeses made exclusively with the ultrafiltration process. Guilloteau's signature cheese, Fromager d'Affinois, was born using the ultrafiltration process. So what does this process do?

Ultrafiltration is a special industrial process in which milk is filtered through a sieve to partially eliminate small molecules such as water and lactose and concentrates fat and protein. Ultrafiltration significantly increases the yield that can be used for cheese and allows every step of the cheesemaking process to occur faster. Because some of the milk's mineral salts are retained in ultrafiltration, Fromager d'Affinois is richer in calcium and phosphorus than a Brie or Camembert.

The texture of Fromager d'Affinois is so rich and creamy that you can spread it on your favorite cracker like soft butter--rind and all. It is fabulous paired with fig spread or other fruit preserves, fresh fruit, sparkling whites, and fruity reds such as Pinot Noir and Beaujolais.