Morbier (more-bee-YAY) is one of France’s best-known cheeses. It is a semi-soft, aromatic and surprisingly mild French cow’s milk cheese, defined by the dark vein of vegetable ash streaking through its middle. Today, the ash is purely decorative, a nod to the method by which Morbier was once produced in the small village of Morbier in Franche-Comté, a province in eastern central France, bordering Switzerland. It has a rind that is yellowish, moist and leathery. The cheese is aged for at least 60 days and up to four months. It has an assertive scent, but a mild, sweet, buttery taste and a nutty aftertaste.

Do not confuse Morbier with the American Mobay cheese, a Wisconsin semisoft cheese made of one layer of goat’s milk and one of sheep’s milk. In appearance, it is similar to Morbier, with ash separating the two layers. The taste, however, has nothing in common since the milk is not the same.

Morbier is excellent served with Gewurztraminer or Pinor Noir.

A semi-hard cheese (or Schnittkäse), Kuh Heublumenkäse comes from Bavaria, the largest state in Germany. Bavaria contains the city of Munich, and according to GermanFoods.org, 75% of German cheeses are produced there. This cheese is made from cow’s milk, with floral and herb ingredients that include safflower, blue mallow, peony and marigold, with rosemary, oregano and a dash of unrefined rock salt.

So, as you wait out the arrival of spring in the bloomin’ cold, have a taste of a fresh flowering meadow. I encourage you to ask for this cheese from your local cheese monger and pair it with a Pinot Grigio. Or, for an authentic German experience, pair it with a dark German-style beer such as Gordon Biersch Dunkelweizen.

You can learn more about German cheese (and other foods) at GermanFoods.org. If you’re looking for German cheese in your local shops, keep an eye out for any names that end with the suffix käse—German for “cheese.”

Learn about this rare artisan cheese.

Menuet, the cheese, is named after minuet, the
dance. Originating in France, this Menuet is made
by Dancing Cow Cheese in Vermont.

Langres cheese is available on Amazon.com.

With Valentine’s Day upon us, bottles of bubbly will be popped all over the world. Our cheese of the week pairs well with Champagne, and hails from the same area where real bubbly is made, the Champagne-Ardenne region of France (in the northeast of the country, bordering Belgium). Langres dates back to the 18th century; its name and origin come from the main market town of the time, Langres, in the French départment (similar to a county) of the Haute Marne. While its origins are old, it did not gain A.O.C. status until May 1991. The cheese can only be made in the three regions: Cote-d’Or, Haute Marne and Vosges.

The taste of salt is present, making the flavor of the cheese distinct without being aggressive, and an aftertaste some have described as soaked in honey and truffles. The rind of the cheese is sticky and shiny, showing off a magnificent natural orange color. The paste is soft, creamy in color and slightly crumbly; it has a bloomy white penicillium candidum rind.

During the maturing period, the cheeses are placed in humid cellars, where ripening usually takes 5 to 6 weeks. The cheeses are regularly rubbed with brine, either by hand or with a damp cloth. A red dye extracted from annatto seeds is also applied, which gives the cheese an orange color. The form of the cheese is a cylinder with a well on the top, which is called the fontaine or cuvette in French (think of the depression on the top of a mini cheesecake). This depression is intentional; you can pour Champagne or Marc de Champagne in it to further flavor the cheese. Enjoy it on the cheese board or with a salad; if you don’t like Champagne, a red Burgundy will do nicely.

Beemster X-O from iGourmet.

I love the flavor of this week’s cheese because “the butterscotch permeates the palate, followed by alternating waves of whiskey and pecan.” I am sorry if I am waxing euphoric over Beemster X-O, but it is extremely old cheese that is extremely good. Beemster X-O is an extra double aged Gouda matured for 26 months—a very long time in a world when even a dry Parmigiano-Romano is matured for two years. As a cheese matures, the flavors become more complex; moisture also evaporates, leaving the cheese crumbly and granular. Beemster’s unique milk source enables X-O (signifying Extra Old) to achieve one of the widest flavor ranges possible in only 26 months, yet still retaining its smooth and creamy taste.

Learn more about Gouda, Holland’s most famous cheese.

PersillĂ© de Malzieu, from Murray’s Cheese Shop.

Murray’s Cheese shop describes our cheese of the week as such: “Spice is the variety of life, which is why we hunger for this rare, powerfully spicy blue.” Produced just beyond the legally protected limits of Roquefort in the Languedoc-Rousillon region of France, this cheese is made from the pasteurized milk of Lacaune sheep milk, like Roquefort, but it captures a far greater flavor spectrum. “Texturally,” continues Murray’s, “Malzieu sits heavy on the tongue, only to dissolve into a milky skim within seconds. The threat of excess salt, razing sharpness, and intense moldiness is present but always at bay. Beautifully balanced with rich, fatty milk, mushroom, and a long sweetness that should be complemented by a rich, oily dessert wine such as Sauternes or tawny Port.”

Learn more about blue cheese.