Cervelle de Canut is a cheese sauce made from fromage blanc and herbs, originating from Lyon, France. Its name means “brain of a silk worker” and it is often served as an appetizer with French toast or as a topping on fruit salads.
Cervelle de Canut is a very popular cheese or cheese sauce that is used to prepare different types of cheese dishes in French cuisine. It is a specialty of the Lyon region in France and means “brain of a silk worker”; cervella is French for brain and canut means silk worker. According to one theory, the term was coined as an offensive reference to the silk workers who worked in the Lyonnaise silk factories before World War II. Apparently the local people of Lyon did not consider silk workers too shiny, hence the comparison of their brains with the semi-liquid consistency of cervella de canut. The term may also have developed from comparisons with the brains of animals, particularly those of calves, which were cooked and eaten.
White cheese, known in the French language as fromage blanc or fromage frais, is used to make cervelle de canut. The fresh, soft cheese is mixed with an assortment of chopped fresh herbs such as chives, parsley, shallots, tarragon, or marjoram, then flavored with garlic, pepper, salt, olive oil, and vinegar. The mixture is processed through a blender to obtain a smooth and yogurt-like consistency. If the consistency of the canut brain turns out to be too thick, it can be diluted by adding a little milk.
If you want a thicker textured cheese dip, the cheese should be processed in a blender and then squeezed through cheesecloth to drain all moisture from it. For best results, the cheese should be squeezed through cheesecloth and then allowed to drain overnight in the refrigerator. The drained cheese can then be blended with fresh herbs and seasonings and processed in a blender to a smooth paste.
Cervella de canut can be stored in the refrigerator until needed. In France, it is often eaten as a first course or appetizer, as they call it in French. The cream cheese with the thick texture is usually served with French toast, savory biscuits, and mashed potatoes. The cheese sauce with the thin texture can be poured as a topping on fruit salads and fruit salads, or it can be eaten directly as a cheese platter. Often, cervella de canut can be paired with a French red wine.
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