Fromage Frais
Fromage frais is an acid-coagulated fresh cheese from northern France and southern Belgium, sold with its live cultures still active. It looks and eats much like yogurt, and turns up in desserts, on bread under jam, and in savoury cooking.
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | France |
| Specific Origin | Northern France and southern Belgium |
| Texture | Fresh soft |
| Flavor | Milky, smooth |
| Aroma | Mild |
| Colors | White |
| Also Known As | Maquée, Fromage blanc |
What is Fromage Frais Cheese?
Fromage frais comes from the north of France and southern Belgium, where it developed alongside its close relative fromage blanc. The name means fresh cheese. Fromage blanc, also called maquée, means white cheese.
Both are acid-coagulated fresh cheeses. The difference is legal rather than one of recipe: French law requires fromage frais to still contain live cultures at the point of sale, while in fromage blanc the fermentation has been halted.
It looks a lot like yogurt. The taste is mild and the mouthfeel smooth and homogenous, close to quark or cottage cheese.
It can be a dessert on its own, spread on bread over or under jam, or worked into savoury dishes. Many Western supermarkets shelve it next to the yogurts. In the United Kingdom, where it arrived in the 1980s, fromage frais is often sweetened with sugar and flavoured with fruit, then marketed as a children's dessert.
How Does Fromage Frais Cheese Compare?
The most relevant cheeses to compare Fromage Frais against.
