Dairy and VR: Field to Fromage

By Larson Matson

In lower Manhattan you can meet a dairy cow. In fact, you can meet fields of them. The Cheeses of Europe Marketing Council, composed of French dairy farmers and cheese firms, have gone high tech. In their pop-up location in SoHo, the French Cheese Board not only has tons of classes and a full lab but they also have a virtual reality station that takes you to the field your cheese is from. You get to meet the cows and learn facts about fromage. This tour is free and a fun way to milk a Saturday. They also usually have samples and a selection of cheese from Europe.

Beside the VR they also have a free cheese education app available on iOS and Android. With the holidays here why not check out the app and sound super smart at your office holiday party. Their app is an easyto-use resource for a range of European cheeses, videos of tasty recipes, and cheese secrets. Here are just a few crumbles of cheese knowledge we learned from talking to the cows and clicking on the app.

Called the King of Cheeses, Brie (Bree) is one of the best-known cheeses of France.

With a pungent scent, Bleu d'Auvergne (blue doh vairn yeh) hasa salty and spicy taste.

Produced in the dry hills of Provence since Roman times, Banon is an uncooked, unpressed cheese made from goat's milk.

Today, Gorgonzola (gor-gohn-zoh-lah) is primarily produced in the regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. Gorgonzola is typically aged for 3-4 months before it's enjoyed.

Parmigiano Reggiano has a bold, umami flavor that is adored by chefs, connoisseurs and laymen alike.

This bold, British blue is seriously small-batch. In fact, there are only 6 dairies in the world licensed to make Stilton.

Picodon's name comes from old French and means sour. It’s better than it sounds. I swear!

EXTRA TIP: ALLOW THE CHEESE TO COME TO ROOM TEMPERATURE BEFORE

SERVING. POSITION YOUR CHEESE CLOCKWISE FROM MILD TO STRONG. GARNISH WITH FRUIT, NUTS AND SLICED BREAD.

For more, download our app TASTY BYTES MAGAZINE, available on Android and iOS.