Cheese, it's one of the most important ingredients making up the rich tartiflette that is the French culture. Any Frenchman who doesn't have some mild obsession with the congealed stuff can hardly call himself French. Some people here in France do not like coffee, some have little affinity for wine, but everyone here loves cheese. I personally didn't eat much of it back home in Sydney, I did start to develop an appreciation for it back in London, and now living in Paris, cheese has become part of my everyday. So, after quite some time trying the soft stuff, the firm stuff, and even the green stuff, which ones are my favourites?

If there is one thing that I have learnt here in cheese-land is that every fromage has its time and place. So it's essentially hard to class one cheese above another given they all have their own unique occasion/s in which they shine. For example, I'd never spread anything too pungent on my toast in the morning - that would be weird (and hard to digest). Actually, even having cheese alone in the morning is apparently a major faux pas. I have been reprimanded many a time for doing so. The French think it's totally bizarre - you have to eat sweet stuff in the morning, I mean cheese is a dessert for God's sake!

Cheese is hard to class but I've done so anyway. So without further ado, here is a top ten list of my favourite French cheeses:

10 Elemmental (râpé)

Elemmental is probably one of the most basic and tasteless of the French cheeses. But, it is an indispensable every day ingredient none the less. Pretty much everyone buys it in blocks, grated (rapée) or sliced as a compliment to almost anything - baguettes, salads, oven baked dishes, etc. I have it grated on pasta all the time. It turns a mediocre pasta dish into something special.

9 Cottin

Made from goat's cheese, Cottin is both chalky in texture and in flavour. It's perfect for melting and subsequently tastes great simply grilled on toast. I don't crave the stuff that often, so that's why it's way down on the list.

8 Tomme de Savoie

I've only tried this style of Tomme a handful of times. It is mild and has quite a distinct musty type flavour; a great item to have on any cheese platter.

7 Roquefort

Either loved or hated, Roquefort is considered the "King of Cheeses". This rather scentless yet bacterially spicy concoction has a sharp, salty and overpowering taste. It's one of those cheeses that shine in minute quantities, in salad or even on pizza (it works like an anchovie). I love it as a complement that enhances a dish, but not so much as the main ingredient. My flatmate Emmanuel mixes it in with plain pasta - now that's hardcore.

6 Coulommiers

Coulommiers is something like in between Camembert and Brie (though is technically part of the Brie family). I find Camembert a bit too strong at times, and Brie a bit flavourless. So Coulommiers is the perfect cheese if you're searching for that soft, creamy texture with a flavoursome yet gentle taste to match.

5 Ossau-Iraty

I've only just discovered this one recently during one of my random cheese buying exercises at Monoprix. It's not a very common cheese but is highly accessible in terms of flavour. Ossau-Iraty is made with sheep's milk and thus possesses a nice buttery flavour though being all the same firm in texture; a great tasting cheese that one can snack on easily.

4 Beaufort

Beaufort is made from raw cow's milk squeezed freshly in the Haut Savoie region of France. The end product comes in the form of giant cheese wheels which can weight around 45kg. It is a smooth and firm cheese with a pleasant creamy flavour. I ate a lot of it when I was boarding in the Alps.

3 Mont d'Or

Mont d'Or is an amazingly rich, soft and flavoursome cheese which basically melts as soon as it's opened from its moulded bark packaging. Be careful with how much you consume as its opulent taste can linger in your mouth for hours.

2 Comté (affiné 12 mois)

Very similar to Beaufort but is more complex with its nuttier and saltier taste. Comté also ages extremely well. So generally speaking, I only buy Comté that has been aged 12 months - that's the good stuff (the 6 month version isn't so flavoursome). The wonderful thing about Comté is that it's a great tasting cheese that you can use for just about anything - in slices for sandwiches, in melted form for fondues, or in cubes on a platter to sample with wine.

1 Cantal Vieux

This here my friend is the best cheese ever! From my very first taste of it I knew that there was no other for me. Cantal Vieux is my one and only cheesy love. It's not a widely exported variety in France due to its strong taste, but that's why it's my number one. Each morsel of Cantal Vieux has an intense burst of flavour almost like that of the rotting cheese types. It induces mild salivation and thus leaves you begging for more. It also has an oily clay-like texture and is surrounded by a think and very rough crust; so it's pretty to look at as well. I have read somewhere that it's "the connoisseur's choice" - i guess that would include me :)