Quality wine and wonderfully stinky cheese have been at the center of the French diet for generations.
But a new study has suggested that France may be losing its love for cheese, as increasing numbers of locals are ditching cheese boards for simpler flavours.
Although the French finish their meals with a final plate of cheese, the study reveals that they prefer to incorporate it into larger recipes, melting and grating it. in pastas, sandwiches and salads.
The French are well regarded as the world’s biggest cheese consumers, with each native munching on a whopping 27kg of cheese per person each year, more than double what cheddar-loving Brits manage.
However, according to a study by the consulting firm NielsenIQ, only 35 percent of French people still regularly chew a cheese board.
Quality wine and wonderfully stinky cheese have been at the center of the French diet for generations.
According to a study by the consulting firm NielsenIQ, only 35 percent of French people still regularly chew a cheese board.
Rather, cheese has become an ingredient rather than the centerpiece of French food.
The study found that there was an increase in the consumption of Emmental, which is most often used as an ingredient in salads or sandwiches.
According to the The timesEmmental was the best-selling cheese in France in 2023, with 156,562 tons sold nationwide.
It outsold Camembert, often considered the most popular cheese in France, with comparatively small sales of 45,612 tonnes.
Camembert has previously been considered France’s third most popular cheese, after other cheese board favorites goat cheese and Comté, and is considered the most iconic fromage cheese. according to seven out of 10 French people.
But figures from last year reveal that France would rather eat mozzarella than its native cheese, as the Italian pizza topping was the third most popular in all of France.
Last year, 43,356 tons were sold nationwide, reflecting a 50 percent increase in sales of foreign cheese.
As mozzarella has increasingly become part of the French diet, the country’s native cheese, including the likes of Fourme d’Ambert, Chevrotin, Langres, Munster, Chaource or Selles-sur-Cher.
The change in habits can be a benefit for locals in the future. Camembert and other sister cheeses have been at risk of extinction for decades due to concerns about the fungus used to make the cheese, Penicillium camemberti, which reportedly lacks genetic diversity.
According to The Times, Emmental was the best-selling cheese in France in 2023, with 156,562 tons sold nationwide.
But figures from last year reveal that France would rather eat mozzarella than its native cheese, as the Italian pizza topping was the third most popular in all of France.
French cheese, typically enjoyed in one bite, taken from a cheese-filled board, has been overtaken by more versatile cheeses like Emmental and mozzarella, which are easier to incorporate as part of a larger meal.
According to a food trade website, these once-popular options have fallen 8.5 percent.
In 2014, 48.7 percent of the cheese consumed by the French was intended to be consumed alone, probably on a cracker with a little butter, but that figure dropped to 42.4 percent as recorded last year.
Meanwhile, the amount of cheese intended for cooking rose from 39 percent to 45.1 percent during the same period.
The change is believed to reflect changes in eating habits in France. The Times reported that 42 percent of French people spend less than 30 minutes cooking the family meal and 46 only spend that time eating it.
Less time spent on food means the French have less time available to enjoy multiple courses, which means the cheese board gets shelved.
Earlier this year, French President Macron said the French are spending less of their income on food than before as they prioritize phone subscriptions, travel and lifestyle.
“The problem we have today in our country is that the proportion of income that the French spend on food has decreased in the last 30 years,” he said.
The reduced spending probably explains why many natives are opting for cheaper supermarket varieties from Italy and Switzerland, rather than expensive local cheese.
talking to EuronewsOwner of Parisian cheese shop Fromagerie Quatrehomme, Nathalie Quatrehomme, said: “I think traditionally a cheese plate is served after the main course and before dessert. This is the traditional way to have a cheese plate in France.
‘But I think this traditional form is evolving. Now you can eat the entire cheese and meat plate, you can eat cheese as an appetizer and not after the main course. You can have cheese for breakfast. “We really changed the way we eat cheese and that’s a good thing.”
And the change has sparked controversy across the European country, with cheese purists blaming the loss of food culture and the rise of health advocates trying to ban unpasteurized cheese.
Meanwhile, in the industry they praise the adaptation to modern tastes.
The change is believed to reflect changes in eating habits in France. The Times reported that 42 percent of French people spend less than 30 minutes cooking the family meal and 46 percent only spend that time eating it.
Nicolas de Saint Pierre, marketing director for Western Europe at food group Savencia, told LSA: ‘Meals have become much simpler.
‘The context could have been detrimental to the cheese. But it is adapted and appreciated in various ways, in the middle of a meal, as a culinary aid or as a snack.’
Véronique Richez-Lerouge, president of the Fromages et Terroir association and author of Les Labels Prize en Otage, told The Times: “There is a lack of knowledge and, in addition to young people raised in gastronomic families, there is also an industrialization of taste.” .
“Basically, tastes are becoming simpler and that means that young people don’t want cheeses with soft, smelly rinds or washed rinds.”
The author said France needed more people like King Charles, who spoke out against the ban on unpaturized cheese in the 1990s due to health concerns.
