Vacherin Mont D'Or with Ripe Pears and Drageed Hazelnuts

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   Vacherin Mont d'Or is one of the most loved French cheeses from the Franche-comte area in the Savoie above the Rhone Alps close to the Swiss border.

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   Some say the Swiss make it too and they invented it but it has been determined it was the French who invented it.

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   It is made from raw cows milk usually with winter milk and the curds are uncooked, pressed then aged on spruce planks.

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   The curds are rubbed with salt water so they have a washed rind and then place in a wooden box of a band of spruce to help them keep there shape as they ripen and to give it a unique flavor and aroma.

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   The rind is usually slightly crusty and golden with the interior pate being quite yellow creamy and sweet but pungent in flavor.

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   It has at least a 45 percent butter fat content and is aged 3 weeks minimum.

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   To serve it you must use a spoon to scoop it out of the box because ripe it is quite runny, so one 500 gram wheel should really be consumed in 1 sitting as it oozes everywhere in the box once you break through the rind.

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   Dragees are tiny sugar balls used for decorating cakes or when nuts are coated with a thin hard layer of sugar.

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   To make the drageed hazelnuts, place the sugar in a small saucepan and pour the water around the edge to moisten it completely.

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    Bring this to a boil and then add the hazelnuts.

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    Stir continuously until all the water is cooked away and the nuts are coated with a sugar frosting.

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    Turn the heat to medium and continue cooking and stirring to re-caramelize the sugar and make them shiny.

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    As soon as all the sugar has turned to a thin coating of caramel on the nuts, let them cool 30 seconds then dump them onto a slightly greased cool surface like a piece of marble.

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    Being careful not to burn yourself, separate them into individual glazed nuts.

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    Let cool.

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    Store in an airtight container.

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    On small plates place a few slices of the French bread and pears and place a spoonful of the cheese on the plate.

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    Scatter the hazelnuts around the plate, about 5 or 6 per serving.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.