Thursday, December 26, 2013

Cheese Aisle Revolution

I break out my camera to take photos in the Montparnasse Monoprix cheese section; it's one of the biggest grocery chains in the country, but this doesn't look like any cheese section I've seen in a grocery store. It's gorgeous -- better than most actual fancy cheese shops in the US, frankly.



But it doesn't matter how lovingly I take these photos. The woman working there comes over and yells at me, "You can't take those photos, and you know it!" When I question both why not and how I'm supposed to know this, she gets even madder. "Of course it's a rule! You must have permission!" You remember the unofficial national motto... "French Bureaucracy: We're Not Infamous For Nothing!"

Will I be imprisoned? Kicked out of the country? Find out what happens at A Year in Fromage....



 

2 comments:

Steve said...

Because of the whole "cow cheese in America that is mass produced as puss in it" thing, I think I'm going to go with organic cheeses going forward (better chance that the cows are treated better, have fewer stomach ulcers, therefor less mucus and puss).

Kazz said...

Quick research leads me to the idea that the measure of pus (which is apparently dead white blood cells) is indicative of sickness in cows, and that yes, France allows lower levels. However, it's not inherently harmful, and basically it's just bacteria -- like in yoghurt, too. Just depends on the kind and quantity. But thanks for the comment, and I'll do more through research and do a cheese info post on it at some point(to either educate or gross out people, depending on how you look at it!).