{"id":5897,"date":"2019-04-03T13:49:41","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T17:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheeseloverca.wordpress.com\/?p=5897"},"modified":"2019-04-03T13:49:41","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T17:49:41","slug":"le-pizy-truly-outstanding-quebec-farmstead-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheeselover.ca\/index.php\/2019\/04\/03\/le-pizy-truly-outstanding-quebec-farmstead-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Le Pizy: Truly outstanding Qu\u00e9bec farmstead cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Le Pizy: Outstanding farmstead cheese from Fromagerie La Suisse Normande.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019ll go for months without Pizy, and then, when we taste it again, we fall in love all over again.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is no question Le Pizy, created by Cheesemaker Fabienne Mathieu at Fromagerie La Suisse Normande<\/a> in St.-Roch-de-L\u2019Achigan, Qu\u00e9bec, is one of Canada\u2019s best farmstead cheeses. When it comes to aroma, flavour and texture, Pizy is simply outstanding, and pretty in appearance, too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We were first introduced to Pizy while spending too much money on cheese one afternoon years ago<\/a> at March\u00e9 Jean Talon in Montr\u00e9al in the company of Vanessa Simmons<\/a>, arguably Canada\u2019s leading cheese sommelier.<\/p>\n

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Try and buy Le Pizy at the upcoming Artisan Cheese Night Market in Toronto.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vanessa\u2019s tasting notes tell all:<\/p>\n

Pizy has and remains one of my favourite top 10 Canadian cheeses, for sure.\u00a0It’s even better if you keep it past the best-before date on the package by at least a week or two or more.<\/p>\n

The cheese has more yeasty notes when it’s young which develops into more of a mushroomy, slightly nutty flavour as it ages. It’s very pretty, with the most delicate hue of champagne.<\/p>\n

This small, soft, surface-ripened pasteurized cow\u2019s milk cheese is fashioned after the Swiss Tomme Vaudoise, due to its shape (small wheel) and size (only \u00bd-inch thick). Le Pizy has a thick bloomy ivory rind, with a rich, dense, paste coloring between ivory and pearl. Experience big milky, fresh field mushroom aromas and a fresh lactic taste with a sweet tang when it\u2019s young, softening out as it ages.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The hand-crafted cheese produced at Fromagerie La Suisse Normande represents the marriage of two cultures, Swiss and French. Cheesemaker Fabienne Mathieu comes from Switzerland, husband Fr\u00e9d\u00e9rick Guitel who manages the farm comes from Normandy in France.<\/p>\n

Their resulting cow, goat and sheep\u2019s milk products are a marriage made in heaven. Cheeses are made from animals raised on the farm, in true \u201cfermier\u201d (farmstead<\/em>) fashion.<\/p>\n

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Meet the Suisse Normande family, left to right : Fabienne (mother), Magaly, B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte (both daughters work at the fromagerie), Freddy (father) and Thibaut (son who works at the farm).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of their five children, three want to ensure the continuity of their parents’ work: B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte and Magaly at the fromagerie and Thibault on the farm.<\/p>\n

The fromagerie began its activities in 1995 on the farm 50 kilometres north of Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n

Fromagerie La Suisse Normande will be represented by Plaisirs Gourmets at Canada\u2019s Artisan Cheese Night Market on June 6 in historic St. Lawrence Market\u2019s Temporary North Hall in Toronto.<\/p>\n