Why do the French eat cheese after the main course?

For me this has been a great mystery. In America we eat cheese as a snack, as an appetizer, or as a sandwich. A few years ago, we were invited to a barbecue with all europeans, we brought cheese and bread thinking it would be an appetizer. Naturally, it sat until after dinner when everyone was ready for dessert. D. and I discussed this later and decided it was rather like asking for butter in a restaurant here, only Americans do this. Europeans do not eat bread until their food arrives. They break it into small pieces to eat, not biting from the largest piece. And, they definitely do not eat cheese until after their main course.

Why? Here on Bastille Day, relaxing, reading, and planning the new J'Adore France website (www.jadorefrance.net) and business ventures, I need to answer this question.

So, after reading a few articles, and talking to a few people, it would seem that the view of cheese is entirely different than in America. The French appear to view it as quite rich, and that to eat it before a meal would spoil your appetite. Instead, it is eaten after dinner to aide in digestion, but in a small quantity. Definitely not eaten in big chunks like in the US.

So, the great cheese mystery is now solved. Back to a few murder mysteries in my e-reader.