I went to my regular dairy shop at the marché des Ternes in Paris the other day. And when talking with the owner I noticed something, up the shelf behind him… something of the utmost importance for the like of me - donkeys! Yes, donkeys in a dairy shop.
Well actually they were not real live donkeys. They were small size, very flat ones, for they featured on cheese labels!
It so happens that the dairy owners recently purchased a number of old cheese labels at an antiques fair in Normandy and they thought it would be a good idea to display them in the shop.
In my opinion it was indeed and I immediately asked them would they allow me to take a picture and tell you about those labels on my blog.
I've known them for years now and I suppose they've tagged me a fairly excentric person, but never mind, they found it all very funny and here we are.
The two cheeses the labels of which feature a donkey are called "la Promenade" and "Bougre d'âne" (pictured above).
And now one more French lesson... "âne", you already know, is the most common French word for "donkey". Actually the whole two words together are an expression meaning something like "you silly eejit". Which is understandable when you have a look at this disgruntled girl who has just been thrown off her mount . Now just between you and me… what did she do to this poor donkey for him to do that to her? No self respecting donkey would behave that way under normal circumstances right?
As a name, "bougre" is a colloquial, slightly old fashioned word, for "guy", "chap" or "rascal" (specially in connection with children for the latter).
By sheer curiosity I searched the web for more cheese labels, and to my utter amazement, realised that, besides the odd auction website which has a bit of everything for sale, there are very serious websites held by cheese labels collectors. And I happened to see one of my dairy owners models, "La Promenade" on one of those.
If you are interested in seing more of those cheese labels with not only donkeys but other animals too and also the most unexpected things you could imagine in connection with cheese (would you have ever considered using an airship on a cheese label?) visit Le Tyrosemiophile website.
Enjoy !
