• Home
    • About Janet
    • Media
    • Client List
    • Contact
    • Planet Cheese Blog
    • Planet Cheese Signup
    • Cheese Library
    • All Items
    • World Cheese Tour
    • Books
    • World Cheese Tour Classes
    • Other Classes & Events
    • Custom Class/Event Request
    • Cheese O'Clock Video Archive
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
    • Winter
    • Comfort
Menu

Janet Fletcher

180 Stonecrest Dr
Napa, CA, 94558
(707) 265-0404
{ Janet Fletcher / Food Writer }

{ Janet Fletcher / Food Writer }

Janet Fletcher

  • Home
  • About
    • About Janet
    • Media
    • Client List
    • Contact
  • Planet Cheese
    • Planet Cheese Blog
    • Planet Cheese Signup
    • Cheese Library
  • Store
    • All Items
    • World Cheese Tour
    • Books
  • Classes
    • World Cheese Tour Classes
    • Other Classes & Events
    • Custom Class/Event Request
    • Cheese O'Clock Video Archive
  • Recipes
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
    • Winter
    • Comfort

It’s Back!

December 13, 2016 janet@janetfletcher.com
Meg Smith Photography

Meg Smith Photography

Two years (and then some) without the luscious Gabriel Coulet Roquefort. How did we survive? Now this much-missed Roquefort is back in the U.S., armed with all the lab analyses and clean bills of health that the FDA requires. If you were worried about consuming France’s most famous blue cheese (I wasn’t), worry no longer. Imported raw-milk cheeses like Roquefort get more scrutiny than raw chicken, and you can guess which one has the better safety record.

Roquefort went MIA here in the summer of 2014, when the FDA dramatically cut allowable bacteria levels in imported cheese. The bacteria that FDA was counting do not cause food-borne illness, but FDA considered high counts an indication that a creamery wasn’t clean. This thinking was widely disputed, but it didn’t matter. Exporters couldn’t risk the FDA holding or destroying a shipment because a sampled wheel exceeded the limit.

Several producers simply stopped shipping. But the U.S. represents a huge market for Roquefort, so producers had to devise a way to comply. Gabriel Coulet, a 150-year-old enterprise and one of seven remaining Roquefort producers, now tests every batch destined for the U.S. Effort and expenses must have soared, although the per-pound price has not climbed. News flash: Coulet Roquefort is safe for human consumption.

Coulet is one of the smaller producers, still family owned and operated. Roquefort can suffer terribly in transit and in storage, so I pay more attention to how it tastes at the cheese counter than I do to the producer label, but Coulet is held in high regard. The two wedges I’ve purchased recently have been impeccable, moist and creamy, spicy but not biting, as spreadable as softened butter. I like a plain baguette, pain de campagne  or walnut bread with Roquefort and a dessert wine like Sauternes or Rivesaltes. I think Roquefort destroys dry red wine, but some disagree. Honey with Roquefort is controversial. Elyne Salagnon, a sales manager for Coulet’s importer, says French people would never do that. “This is more of an American habit,” Salagnon told me, “but a good one, if I may say.”

In Northern California, look for Gabriel Coulet Roquefort at these locations.

Gifts for Cheese Fans

Gift Card WCT Rita.jpg

Recipients can select the classes that interest them most. Let the learning begin!
More information >


Cheese Course cover- Giftwrapped.jpg

I'm delighted to personalize any of my books for your colleagues and friends. Free third-class shipping.
More information >

Honey of a Honey

McEvoy-Ranch-Honey

I thought the new McEvoy Ranch honey was good, but I’m no authority. I knew the honey was good when my husband kept dipping a spoon into it. Doug doesn’t like honey. I’ve lived with the guy for 35 years. He doesn’t like honey. So where is all this honey going?

Delicate wildflower honey…sublime with blue cheese. Look for it here. $15.00/13 oz.

← Crunch TimeThree's No Crowd →
 

Subscribe!

We respect your privacy.

Thank you!
Planet Cheese RSS

Browse the Archive:

Planet Cheese Blog

Welcome to my world: a fragrant, fascinating universe devoted to great cheese. In this and future Planet Cheese posts, you’ll find profiles of the world’s best cheeses plus insights into everything cheese: shops, recipes, interviews, pairing discoveries, classes, videos, travel. If you haven’t already done so, sign up here - it’s complimentary - and join me in learning something new about cheese every week.


NEW!
2025 World Cheese Tour Class Schedule


Monthly
through November

June 10: SOLD OUT
Reserve for July
Reserve for August
5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Winston’s Café
1517 Third Street
Napa


Order signed copies
Free Shipping!

Just received a new shipment of Gather. You can order signed copies here. Third-class shipping is free.

Cheese&Wine
Cheese-Beer
BS-Yogurt.jpg
BS-Wine Country Table.jpg
EatingLocal
BS-FFFM-New1.jpg

Powered by Squarespace
     Photographs: Douglas Fletcher, Ed Anderson, Megan Clouse, Faith Echtermeyer, Eva Kolenko,
Victoria Pearson, Sara Remington and Meg Smith
Design: Jennifer Barry Design | Props: Tangerine Prop Shop | © 2024 Janet Fletcher, All Rights Reserved