Fromage Blanc 101

Cowgirl Creamery Fromage Blanc photo credit: Sara Remington

Fromage Blanc literally means “white cheese” in French, but what is it exactly? We spoke with Kirstin Jackson, author of Fromage Blanc, an illustrated cheesemaking recipe book to find out.

What is Fromage Blanc?

At its most basic, Fromage Blanc is a fresh cultured cheese. A lot of people don’t know this but Chèvre is Fromage Blanc. The curd is fermented overnight, it has a tang and sweetness. It’s one of my favorite cheeses because it’s so simple and a great party cheese that you made yourself. It’s like handing them cheese love! I teach it in all my beginning cheesemaking classes. Fromage Blanc and Ricotta are both good first cheeses to learn to make.

How did you first experience Fromage Blanc? 

I’ve been eating Chèvre since I was young. We were a cheese forward household. When I was working in cheese, I did a tasting of Fromage Blanc from Bellwether Farms, Vermont Creamery, Cowgirl Creamery and I realized how good it is for appetizers.

What do you need to make Fromage Blanc?

You need a stainless steel pot, or enameled like a Le Creuset, not aluminum because it throws the chemistry of the curd off. You also need cheesecloth to strain it, a very clean towel to hang it, a ladle, and a strainer. In addition to milk you need rennet, calcium chloride (you can find it online or a cheese shop) and culture or buttermilk. You need to use milk that is not ultra-pasteurized or flash pasteurized. That won’t work because it is heated so high that the changes in the microbiology and the chemistry of the milk prevent it from forming a proper curd. 

We put culture in it, but how they used to make it was was they would take raw milk and leave it in a barn where it could be cultured through the ambient indigenous bacteria.

How is it made?

It’s very similar to how you make yogurt, but a big difference is that you add a cheese culture of buttermilk and rennet, an enzyme that firms up the proteins. It needs16-24  hours — you leave it overnight and when it smells like yogurt you drain it anywhere from 5-14 hours. You can use any milk you like—it’s great with goat or sheep but also a blend of milks and you can even make it with lowfat milk.

What are some of your favorite ways to use it? 

I love it on crostini, a great appetizer cheese. Top it with fresh fruit, prosciutto, grilled asparagus. I have a recipe for combining it with herbs, fresh or dried and olive oil. It’s the simplest thing you’ll ever serve. For dessert serve it in a tart or pie shell with jam, or very simply with cardamom and honey and cookies. 

It’s a good cooking cheese too but it’s not going to melt. It’s a finishing cheese. I like it with a pasta, I add garlic, herbs, shallots and then stir the Fromage Blanc in at the end (off the heat). You don’t want to lose the whey or the butterfat. 

What beverages does it pair well with?  

It goes well with very simple beverages, it’s surprisingly versatile. With wine I like it with unoaked whites or sparkling, or light reds. It’s also good with wheat beers, IPAs, and brighter beers.