The Laughing Cow (French: “a vache qui rit“) is a brand of cheese products made by Fromageries Bel, and in particular refers to the brand’s most popular product, the spreadable wedge. When I was a child, my mother would give me one of the original, triangular wedges if I was hungry and wanted a snack before dinner. I remember feeling special unwrapping the silvery wedge of cheese, and I also fondly remember that the creamy cheese was filling, and quite satisfying. Since it is wrapped and can be left unrefrigerated for a while, as an adult it was wedges of this cheese that kept me from being hungry, on more than one, delayed plane flight!
The Laughing Cow is made up of cream, milk and fresh and aged cheeses, but what makes the Laughing Cow different from many cheeses, it that it can remain unrefrigerated for some time. The wedges of cheese, neatly packed into a round box, have little, red, foil tabs that release the cheese from it’s silvery metallic wrapper.
The Laughing Cow has added a lot of flavors since they launched their original cheese, decades ago. They also make Mini Baby Bell (those little round cheeses wrapped in wax). Now they have a wide variety of flavors in regular and “light” (only 35 calories per wedge) varieties. Recently, they gave the Advice Sisters a sneak peek of three new flavors that will be launching in June:
Queso Fresco & Chipotle is made with real queso fresco and chipotle peppers, this one has a little kick and it’s only 35 calories per wedge
Mozzarella, Sun Dried Tomaro & Basil – my favorite, made with real sun-dried tomatoes. Really tasty on it’s own–you don’t even need a cracker
Blue cheese ( a light cheese with a light blue cheese taste that reminds me of Saga Blue). This was my favorite although all three new flavors were yummy. The blue is delicate enough to satisfy even non-blue cheese lovers, and all I could think of was how delicious this would be, melted atop a burger.
Speaking of which, author Lisa Lillen was on hand to dispense some cooking tips, and promote her newest cookbook: Hungry Girl 1-2-3, The Easiest, Most Delicious, Guilt-Free Recipes on the Planet. Lisa has a long standing love affair with the Laughing Cow. In face, she told us that whenever she needs to make a sauce creamier, she tells her staff to add a few wedges of Laughing Cow Cheese. She also told us that Mini Baby Bell is not only light on calories, but melts and stretches like the more caloric cousins to make great quesadillas!
Alas, you can’t purchase the new flavors…yet. They’ll launch in stores, in June. Meanwhile, you can enjoy all the other delicious flavors, and visit the Laughing Cow Web Site for more information.
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