ILE-DE-FRANCE, LAND OF CHEESES
Of course, it is not Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with its 14 PDO cheeses or Bourgogne-Franche-Comté with its 8 protected origins.
But the history of cheese production in the Île-de-France region is no less glorious or ancient, linked as it is to the pioneering work of the abbeys. As early as the 8th century, there were reports of cheese being made in the Brie region, east of Paris, in what is now Seine-et-Marne.
Distributed at fairs in Champagne and sometimes even used as currency, Brie cheese has since become the standard-bearer for cheese-making in the Paris region, even earning it its only two PDOs: Brie de Meaux (the leader with nearly 7,000 tonnes produced annually) and Brie de Melun, which is matured for longer to give it a stronger flavour but is produced in smaller quantities.
These star products could be found in 2024 at several Île-de-France exhibitors at the Cheese and Dairy Products Show, such as the Compagnie fermière Rotschild and the Fromagerie Renard Gillard.
Behind the Brie
But the art of cheese-making in the Paris region is not limited to these two superstar Brie cheeses.
Montereau, Nangis, Provins: other towns in Seine-et-Marne also offer their own versions, while the famous Brie noir is a reinterpretation of Brie de Meaux, matured for several months. Also in Seine-et-Marne, the creamy, mild Coulommiers has earned a fine reputation among soft, bloomy-rind cow's milk cheeses. And let's not forget that the department is also part of the geographical area where Brillat-Savarin is produced!
But cheese-making creativity can also be found among the thirty or so producers in the Paris region who are entitled to use the ‘fermier’ designation. A prime example is the Ferme de la Tremblaye, which exhibited at the 2024 Cheese and Dairy Products Show.
A pioneer in agroecology, this farm in La Boissière-École in the Yvelines regularly offers original creations such as Saint-Jacques (a cow's milk cheese with a pearly texture, slightly creamy under a thin, wrinkled rind) and Pavé de Paris, a dense, supple cheese marbled with yellow (cow's milk) and white (goat's milk).
For the past ten years or so, La Ferme de la Tremblaye has also been producing a range of blue goat's cheeses (Bleu de la Boissière).
