In the nineteen eighties we went to France on holiday and were amazed to be offered an entire trolley of cheese, with cheese from cows on top and goat cheese underneath.
(The French eat cheese after the main meat course, finishing with something sweet. Dessert, double S, after the service.)
Traditionally in England you would drink a sherry before the meal such as Harveys Bristol Cream. (You could even have a sherry party, serving only sherry, bread and cheese. It was a stand up party. I soon found I could not stand up after drinking sherry.)
In England on special occasions in restaurants I was sometimes persuaded to drink sweet muscat at the end of the meal with dessert.
My favourite sweet wine is now Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise. This wonderful wine has a perfume and strong flavour.
But nowadays the cheese board as an alternative is becoming increasingly common in British restaurants.
In England you eat cheese at the end of a meal, after dessert. The English system was eat the (strong) cheese (stilton) when you pass the Port.
If you want to try English cheddar, supermarkets stock many varieties. So many cheddars, at the exclusion of other English and French and foreign cheeses, that a member of my family wrote a complaint.
Other well known English cheeses are the blue Stilton, and red Leicester.
From Wales we get Caerphilly.
Most UK supermarkets stock quite a few cheeses. You may have to ask an assistant to help you look for them. Popular cheeses are Dutch Edam, with its distinctive red wax covering, and Gouda.
The favourite French cheeses in England are Brie and Camembert.
From Italy we enjoy Parmesan.
Cream cheese is dominated by Philadelphia from the USA, now available in the larger supermarkets in savoury flavours such as chives. A recent addition is sweet cream cheese - chocolate flavour!
Waitrose supermarket has recipe leaflets and a plasticised pamphlet on varieties of cheeses from different countries.
For In London, however, if you want a speciality cheese shop, you can find a few. From Baker street tube station you can walk across the road outside Madame Tussauds and find La Fromagerie.
Fromage is French for cheese. So Fromagerie is cheese-seller, like the French word patisserie.
My favourite French hard cheese is Comte which has a crunchy, salty effect. You can also try and buy goat cheeses.
Near Piccadilly and Green park there's Paxton and Whitfield. Their shop also sells cheese boards which make good souvenirs or gifts. And cheese knives.
In Borough Market there's another cheese shop offering tastings.
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer and speaker.
See more from and about Angela Lansbury the author on Lulu.com Facebook LinkedIn and Youtube.
(The French eat cheese after the main meat course, finishing with something sweet. Dessert, double S, after the service.)
Traditionally in England you would drink a sherry before the meal such as Harveys Bristol Cream. (You could even have a sherry party, serving only sherry, bread and cheese. It was a stand up party. I soon found I could not stand up after drinking sherry.)
In England on special occasions in restaurants I was sometimes persuaded to drink sweet muscat at the end of the meal with dessert.
My favourite sweet wine is now Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise. This wonderful wine has a perfume and strong flavour.
But nowadays the cheese board as an alternative is becoming increasingly common in British restaurants.
In England you eat cheese at the end of a meal, after dessert. The English system was eat the (strong) cheese (stilton) when you pass the Port.
If you want to try English cheddar, supermarkets stock many varieties. So many cheddars, at the exclusion of other English and French and foreign cheeses, that a member of my family wrote a complaint.
Other well known English cheeses are the blue Stilton, and red Leicester.
From Wales we get Caerphilly.
Most UK supermarkets stock quite a few cheeses. You may have to ask an assistant to help you look for them. Popular cheeses are Dutch Edam, with its distinctive red wax covering, and Gouda.
The favourite French cheeses in England are Brie and Camembert.
From Italy we enjoy Parmesan.
Cream cheese is dominated by Philadelphia from the USA, now available in the larger supermarkets in savoury flavours such as chives. A recent addition is sweet cream cheese - chocolate flavour!
Waitrose supermarket has recipe leaflets and a plasticised pamphlet on varieties of cheeses from different countries.
For In London, however, if you want a speciality cheese shop, you can find a few. From Baker street tube station you can walk across the road outside Madame Tussauds and find La Fromagerie.
Fromage is French for cheese. So Fromagerie is cheese-seller, like the French word patisserie.
My favourite French hard cheese is Comte which has a crunchy, salty effect. You can also try and buy goat cheeses.
Near Piccadilly and Green park there's Paxton and Whitfield. Their shop also sells cheese boards which make good souvenirs or gifts. And cheese knives.
In Borough Market there's another cheese shop offering tastings.
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer and speaker.
See more from and about Angela Lansbury the author on Lulu.com Facebook LinkedIn and Youtube.
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