Let’s use our kitchen scraps to create better, more flavorful meals, and help in our own little ways to cut down on food waste. Once a month, we’ll offer some little tips on using up those items that normally go in the compost bucket or trash stream.
It always starts with us.
You rummage through the little bin of your refrigerator and pull out five or six little bundles of cheese, dairy or vegan, it happens to all of us. Some are just little grated pieces, others quite substantial in size, but perhaps cut into slices for a cheese platter, maybe getting a bit hard. Bits and bobs, this and that, not enough to use in any one recipe. Could you toss them all in a cream sauce and make macaroni and cheese? Of course. Could you add them to a stuffing, or grate it all up and top some veggies? Yes, but will you? They are perilously close to molding or drying out, and this is our food budget we’re looking at.
Plain or fancy
Instead of leaving them in the refrigerator until they can be composted with less regret, it might be fun to make “fromage fort” an easy and elegant spread suitable for any gathering, or just for a little snack.
Use what you have on hand
Fromage fort translates to strong cheese. It is a miscellaneous mixture of different types of leftover cheeses, a little wine, some herbs, and garlic. Simple and delightful. I first saw Jacques Pépin make this a few years ago on one of his shows and marveled at how easy it was, and the fact that I could use just about any combination of cheeses I had leftover in my drawer. He explained that this was a popular use of leftover cheese in the French countryside when he was growing up. His father made this with what was on hand; some leftover cheese, perhaps a bit of broth, some wine, and crushed garlic. He let it set in the cold cellar for a week, which made the mixture even stronger in flavor.
See a video here from Pépin’s Cooking at Home series during the pandemic. He used a full pound of cheese scraps, but you can make as little or lot as your leftovers dictate. As you can see here, it’s not an exact science or recipe, it’s just going by the feel of it.
Toss in the processor
Pepin simplified his by just tossing a jumble of cheeses in a food processor along with some garlic and white wine and after pulsing everything together, he used it immediately, no rest in a cold cellar.
Mix it up
This comes out best if you use a mixture of hard and soft cheeses, but if all you have is hard, you can also add a bit of softened butter or cream cheese for texture. Use herbs you like best, or even leave them out.
Dairy and/or vegan all welcome
My mixtures have included both dairy and vegan cheeses, sometimes all of one or the other. Vegan, cow, goat, and sheep have all ended up in the mix, fancy cheeses and cheaper, plentiful varieties. Strong and mild. Use any blue cheese, vegan or dairy, with a light hand because it can be bossy and take over.
Serve it your way
Use this chilled or at room temperature on crackers or toasts, or veggies. Smear some on slices of baguette and pop under the broiler or grill just until the cheese is melty and starting to brown. It’s nice in sauces, or a gratin, and probably any place your imagination takes you.
Memorable flavor
The bottom line is, the combination is much greater than the sum of its parts! It has a strong flavor, as the name implies, because of the wine I guess, but it doesn’t taste like any of the individual parts unless you use too much blue. So delicious, you might want to make this even if you don’t have little bits of cheese left over!
Not really a recipe
I hesitate to even call this a recipe, it’s more of a technique, and cooking with scraps often is about intuition you gain as you make the dish more and more. On your grandmother’s recipe card, she would write “combine until it is the right consistency,” and you do learn that rather quickly. Here, you don’t have to be fussy about measurements or proportions, just keep an eye on what it looks like, and taste as you go. It really is that simple, and incredibly quick to make.
It all works
Here’s how I made it one day; you get the idea. I used some cheddar left over from a gathering, some blue cheese, an herbed goat cheese, some vegan cream cheese, and a bit of Parmesan. I have tons of fennel in my garden, so I used fennel seeds and some of the greens as my herbs. What’s in your refrigerator right now?
Fromage Fort
• Leftover bits of cheeses, some hard some soft, some strong some mild, diary or vegan, it all works
• A garlic clove, or two or three depending how much cheese is used
• Some dry white wine to thin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Herbs, if you like
In your food processor, add the bits of cheeses. For hard cheese, break into little pieces. Crush the garlic clove. If you only have a little cheese, say four ounces total, use a half a clove or one small. The garlic is just a supporting player, but use what you like. Toss in a few herbs if you like.
Pulse to break the cheese up, then add a little drizzle of the wine, just a bit at first until it smooths out. Process for a minute or so and check the consistency. It will probably need a little more wine, just add it a bit at a time, taste, and add your salt and pepper to your own liking.
That’s pretty much it. It will taste different every time you make it, but it always turns out with tons of flavor that folks keep going back to for more.
Serve this with crackers, or chunks of a nice loaf of baguette.
For the most dramatic transformation, it is divine spread on baguette slices and popped under the broiler until bubbly and brown. If that baguette happens to be stale, even better! You’ve salvaged more from the compost bin. One word of warning, some of the vegan cream cheeses will just melt under the broiler so if you use them either keep their proportion to a minimum, or just use the spread at room temperature.
However you make it with its limitless variations, don’t worry, your mission will be complete and you’ll have no leftovers.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
~ Margaret Mead
FOOD WASTE: From The World Economic Forum:
“Some 931 million tonnes of food goes to waste each year, with between 8-10% of global carbon emissions linked to unconsumed produce, according to a UN report.
About 17% of global food production may go wasted, according to the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Food Waste Index Report 2021, with 61% of this waste coming from households, 26% from food service and 13% from retail.
Food waste burdens waste management systems, increases food insecurity and is a major contributor to the global problems of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.”
Copyright 2024– or current year, The New Vintage Kitchen. Dorothy Grover-Read. Unattributed use of this material and photographs is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to The New Vintage Kitchen, with active link and direction to this original post.
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Hi, Dorothy – I always do mini-grocery shops instead of larger ones. I also to keep our fridge contents low, and use up all ingredients and leftovers as much as possible. It is very helpful that my husband is a fan of leftovers. I love your cheese recipe. That is an excellent idea!
Thank you Donna! You are doing a great job of keeping that food waste to a minimum, leftovers are an important component, only I hesitate to call them leftovers sometimes because I plan them for another use!
Love this!!
Thank you! It’s really tasty, and a little goes a long way.
Bravo! This is a great idea and a nice, fancier break from my usual “use it up” standards of mac and cheese or omelets. This fromage fort reminds me of fondue without the melting pot.
You could easily turn this into a fondu by just thinning it out a bit more with the wine, in fact, it would be quite delicious.
What an excellent post! Like most people, I try to minimize food waste, but once in a while I’m not successful. The other day I found three summer squash that had gone too moldy to use. Darn!
Anyway, love this cheese spread idea. I have very fresh garlic, which would be perfect. I just might make this for our next gathering. We seldom have soft cheese—lactose issues—but we usually have hard cheese. You mentioned thinning with butter. I wonder how it would be to thin with almond milk, the way you might with a cream cheese spread. Any thoughts on this?
Oh, I think almond milk would work just fine to thin it out, just a bit at a time. You could use just about anything, butter, sour cream, all the vegan substitutes, and even just a bit more wine!
Thank you, thank you for the info. I will be making this soon for an upcoming gathering.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Thanks for the tips! The cheese looks tasty!
Thank you Jan, it is really lovely!
Fromage Fortis is indeed a great tasty way of using leftover cheeses, and wine. I make it after every event that includes a cheese board and wine. 🙂
Yes, that’s when we end up with all those little bits! And they all go together.
Thank you, Dorothy, for theexcellent post and video!
Joanna
Hope you get to enjoy this!
Definitely!
Joanna
❤️
What an excellent idea! I love the baguette version.
it’s so good, and easy too! Clean out that refrigerator, Suz!
Yes, ma’am; I’m on it!
🩷
Such a great idea to post this – Thanks!
Thanks for stopping by!
Great idea!
Thank you!
Great idea, Dorothy. I’ll remember this one.
It’s a good one to have on hand!
One way I cut down on food waste (bread bits )is to put it out for the squirrels and crows.
That’s a great way! And sometimes the crowd offer a gift in return!
Formaggio delizioso! Just what the doctor ordered! ♡
Guaranteed to lift the spirits!
That’s a clever idea. It’ll make a change from four cheese ravioli!
Yes, although that’s pretty darned good and clever too!
Such a great idea!
Jenna
Thank you Jenna. I’ve made this many times, each time it’s a little different, but always delicious, and I feel good that I’ve used up those cheeses.
Wonderful Dorothy – I had heard of fromage fort before but you reminded me about it today – and that’s exactly what I needed ! 🙂
I’m sure after Labor Day get-together, there will be lots of little cheese bits around!
What a great idea! I have several cheeses in my refrigerator that I can’t yet quite “compost with less regret,” but that I know I am unlikely to use in timely manner.
Well, then this is the recipe for you!
Well, you sure do inspire me! Clever you are!
Thank you Nancy! But I’ll give full credit to Jacques for this one!
Good ideas!
Thank you Marilyn! Our guests really enjoy this one.
I appreciate ideas to use leftovers. I don’t like to toss expensive ingredients or waste food. Thank you for this great idea, Dorothy.
It totally transforms those little bits of cheese into something really tasty.
I do this all the time! Especially after the holidays, when I have so many varieties of leftover cheese. I always add some butter. And never any alcohol. I personally don’t think it adds anything, but to each her.his own of course!
The butter makes it nice and creamy. When adding the wine, it sort of tastes more like fondue!
What a great idea Dorothy!
Thanks Diane! I know they’ve been doing it for decades, maybe longer, in France!
I never knew you could make a butter spread from leftover cheeses. Mind blow! I have all the stuff to try it tonight! Hugs, C
I think you will be happily surprised! Enjoy this.
A beautiful idea and super delicious 😋
Since I love all kinds of cheese, this sounds great to me! 🙂
It’s so simple, and it makes so much sense. A way to use up all those little bits left over, especially after a gathering.