Camembert cheese is a famous French soft cheese with a velvety white rind and a slowly oozing center. It is made from cow’s milk and is often packaged as picnic food. True Camembert cheese must use unpasteurized milk and is protected with a controlled designation of origin.
Camembert cheese is one of France’s most famous soft cheeses, strongly associated with French culture like Champagne and Pate. The thick, gooey cheese is popular on bread and paired with fruit, and is often packaged as picnic food as it tastes excellent when served hot. Many specialist cheese shops carry this cheese, which is protected with a controlled designation of origin to ensure that the cheese does not lose its cultural and historical value.
The origins of Camembert cheese date back to the mid-1800s, when some were allegedly offered by a farmer’s wife in the village of Camembert. The recipe for making Camembert is closely related to several other famous French soft cheeses, such as Brie, and Napoleon presumably named the cheese after the country to distinguish it from other soft cheeses that would have been available. Camembert production continues today in northwestern France, using milk from cows that traditionally graze on very rich land dotted with apple trees.
To make Camembert cheese, cow’s milk is curdled and inoculated with bacteria. The curds are packed into cheese molds, producing a crumbly cheese that softens as it matures, eventually forming a cheese with a velvety white rind and a slowly oozing center. As a general rule, Camembert should be served at room temperature or warm, as this brings out the buttery, slightly salty flavor of the cheese. The sticky nature of the cheese also makes it very easy to spread. Typically, this cheese is aged for about three weeks before being canned in a traditional round wooden box and shipped to market.
When looking for Camembert cheese on the market, consumers should look for a plump cheese that is soft to the touch. A hard or cracked rind indicates that the cheese hasn’t aged well and should be avoided. Once opened, Camembert should slowly ooze from the center. An extremely liquid cheese is not considered suitable for consumption and can be dangerous and inedible.
To receive a controlled designation of origin, true Camembert cheese must use unpasteurized milk, which is handled with care throughout the production process. Other producers produce a pasteurized cow’s milk cheese that closely resembles Camembert, although it is not entitled to a special label. Both cheeses make excellent table cheeses and go well with cheese platters and samplers, although purists tend to prefer true Camembert.
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