Grilled cheese review #2: Le Platane on whole wheat

Given the over-the-top flavor of my first grilled cheese experiment, I decided the second sandwich should perhaps use a cheese that’s a little more mild. But, I also had some other ingredients on hand that needed to be used, lest they go bad, so I threw them in as well.

 

Le Platane on whole wheat

Cheese: Le Platane

Bread: Pain de tradition Francaise de blet biologique complet (organic whole wheat)

Filings: Green zebra tomato slices, mousse de canard (duck mousse)

Fat: Butter

 

le-plataneFirst, the cheese. Le Platane is a pasteurized cheese made of both cow and goat milk. It is made by the Fromerie de St. Saviol, located in Poitou. It’s similar in composition to the Brie de Meaux, but has a far milder flavor. It’s soft, but not runny, and melted quite well. In fact, melting it made the flavor a little stronger (but still not as strong as the Brie). It took a minute or two under higher heat to get it to get gooey, probably due to the bread (more on that below) and the fact that it had just come out of the fridge. But the circle I bought was also a little less ripe than the Brie I previously bought, so it was more solid overall.

In terms of gooeyness (once it finally melted), Le Platane had a nice mouthfeel. It was gooey enough for my taste, though it could have been perhaps a little more gooey. It’s always nice when you cut the sandwich in half and the cheese stretches as you pull the two pieces apart. At any rate, it was perfectly sufficient for this sandwich, and quite enjoyable.

The bread I used today was an organic whole wheat traditional bread, meaning it’s made like the traditional French boule. It’s crusty on the outside, but far more dense on the inside in comparison to breads made in this style made with regular white flour. It’s a hearty, chewy bread that grilled up nicely in the pan, if a little unevenly. It made the sandwich nice and crunchy, and was a good foil for the softer insides.

The fillings I used were two slices of green zebra tomatoes and a schmear of mousse de canard.

The tomatoes were light and zingy, which did a great job of adding a zestiness that balanced the richness of the cheese. I imagine these would actually go well with on a sandwich with Brie as well because of their acidity. They were also fairly sweet, adding another flavor component one may not normally associate with grilled cheeses, and it gave me some ideas about adding a sweet-salty component to a future experiment.

I added the mousse de candard, or duck mousse, because the package was open and needed to be finished. By itself, mousse de canard is a rich, meaty spreadable mousse. You can get small packs here for less than a Euro, which makes them a very affordable snack. I had bought one last week and have been snacking on it, but wanted to finish it sooner rather than later so it didn’t go bad. So, I spread it on the inside of one of the pieces of bread. I figure adding a fatty, meaty component can’t be that bad.

The result: Meh. I could taste it, but I didn’t think it stood out very well or even complemented the flavor of the cheese and tomato. It really was just overkill. Maybe it’d be better on a light piece bread with a less flavorful cheese? That will have to be an experiment for another time, of course.

Sandwich score: 3.5/5

It was quite satisfying and filling, but it didn’t blow me away.

sandwich-in-pan

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