From time to time someone will say to me, "You must meet a friend of mine. You two will really hit it off." On a rare occasion, we clash like tartan plaid and pastel polka dots when we meet. When this happens I always have to ask myself if the person is really crass, overbearing and foul or did I just catch him on a bad day. These thoughts occurred to me when I tasted Vacherin Fribourgeois for the first time. Right now the two of us can't stand being in the same room together.
Tales of the cheese's youth are glowingly recounted on the label with words such as "grass", "Alpine pastures" and "butter". No trace of these qualities remained in the cheese I tasted, like a beauty pageant winner who has not aged gracefully. The overwhelming flavor of the Vacherin I tasted was funk, the foul bacterial stench of bodily odor.
Vacherin Fribourgeois is a semisoft member of the raclette family, made from unpasteurized cow's milk in the Swiss canton of Fribourg. The Fribougeois will use it in fondue alongside Gruyère from the same region make a moitié-moitié, half-and-half. Either they use a younger cheese or are more accustomed to the taste.
Name: Vacherin Fribourgeois
Type of Milk: cow's, unpasteurized
Type: semisoft
Produced in: Switzerland, Fribourg
Date Purchased: 2/13/2007
Date Eaten: 2/15/2007
Purchased Where: United States, Online Order, www.murrayscheese.com
Price: $26.99/lb.
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COMMENTS
Kirk,
I am proud of you for even trying a cheese that looks so awful. I love this site and I am planning on getting you some local cheeses to try soon. Does Watonga cheese get your mouth watering?
Karen Smith
Posted by Karen Smith | February 18, 2007 10:40 PM
Posted on February 18, 2007 22:40
I am certain that piece of cheese is well past its prime. Well past. VF should be firm to the touch, with a slight funk smell to it, but not a rotten or ammoniated smell. You should not be able to push your finger into the rind and leave a dent. Gah, that photo is going to give me nightmares.
Posted by Sister Beer | October 11, 2007 12:46 AM
Posted on October 11, 2007 00:46
Hi there, I stumbled upon your site and I must say I really enjoy it. I'm really sorry you had the pictured cheese as Vacherin Fribourgeois, it looks nothing like the Vacherin we can find here, in Switzerland. And I should know, being a Fribourgeoise myself. I hope you can find a better example because it truly is a delicious cheese. I wish I could send you some, but there are probably laws against that. Anyway thanks for a wonderful site, now I must start my quest to find a goat's milk camembert!
Posted by Emilie | October 22, 2007 4:56 AM
Posted on October 22, 2007 04:56
Get your money back for that peice of Vacherin Friboug. It shouldn't look like that!
Posted by A 365 Cheeses Reader | December 11, 2007 10:17 PM
Posted on December 11, 2007 22:17