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Welcome to my blog! I love to cook and bake for my family. I hope you enjoy the recipes, foodie reviews, foodie giveaways and cooking tips posted on my blog.

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Friday, August 22, 2014

The Cheeses of Europe - European Cheese at it's Best!

Here in my home...we love cheese, seriously, WE LOVE CHEESE and all kinds of different cheese! Matter of fact, my refrigerator is never without a few blocks or bags of cheese! We use it in the morning with omelets or with breakfast casseroles, during lunch in our hot or cold sandwiches and at dinnertime we often use cheese as an ingredient in such things as lasagna, pizza, strombolis, etc. Oh and let's not forget...cheese is great as a snack or appetizer too!

Recently I was introduced to The Cheeses of Europe and immediately was in-love! They have all kinds of different cheese from your softs to hards and everything in between. What is really cool is that you can use their guide to look up soft, semi-soft, hard and blue cheese. The guide will point them all out according to the type of cheese that you like or that you are looking for.

About Them:

The Cheeses of France Marketing Council is composed of French dairy farmers and cheese firms, the Council is led by The French Dairy Inter-Branch Organization (CNIEL). The Council’s mission is to create awareness about the variety of the cheeses of France available on the US market and the multiple ways that American consumers can incorporate the cheeses into their diets, their recipes and their lifestyles.

Since we LOVE cheese we received three different packages of cheeses to review for all of you. I decided that I was going to use all three of them to make an appetizer tray for a family get-together that we were hosting. Here is what we received:

* Fourme D'Ambert - Made in Auvergne and aged in a cave for 2 months. It is a semi-hard cheese with a moderate to strong flavor (at least in my opinion).

* Brie - Made in France and aged for 4 weeks. It is a soft & creamy cheese with a mild flavor.

* Camembert Le Chatelain - Made in Normandy and ages for at least 4 weeks. This is a creamy cheese with a mild flavor and buttery texture.

I sliced up all three of the cheeses and added them to one of my two appetizer trays. I serviced various fresh cut veggies, crackers and fruits right along with them. I served both trays to my party guests and within 1 hour...nothing was left. Some of my guests ate the cheese all by itself and others topped their crackers with a chunk of cheese.

Personally, I sampled all three varieties and I have to admit...my absolute favorite was the Camembert Le Chatelain. I loved the mild taste and the creamy, buttery texture. It just melted in your mouth and gave you pure pleasure!!!

The Brie came in a close second and I enjoyed that one layered on some crackers. Again, a nice mild flavor with a creamy texture. Delicious!

The Fourme D'Ambert was my hubby's favorite one as he loves a semi-hard cheese that is rich in flavor. My brother is the same way and between the two of them, they devoured the Fourme D'Ambert in record time.

I was hoping to have some cheese left to try in various recipes but sadly, my dinner party guests completely ate it up when I served it as appetizers. Several guests asked me where I got the cheese and what variety they were. Luckily for me, I wrote down all of the information & shared it with them.

Head on over to The Cheeses of Europe and take a look around. I love how they explain what each type of cheese is, the texture, the flavor and they even give you ideas on what recipes to use it in. Looking for some fabulous recipes? They have those too, so make sure you check out their recipes and video section too!

Disclaimer: Shelly Hill has personally reviewed the product listed above. Shelly has not received any monetary compensation for her review. Shelly did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ. The Shakin N Bakin Blog is not responsible for delivery/shipping of giveaway items won from this blog nor are we responsible for mis-use or injury caused by items won from this Blog. Content on this blog is copyrighted, all rights reserved. We reserve the right to legally pursue anyone who violates our rights and/or steals our copyrighted material.

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