Flavours – and smells – of Normandy | Camembert
Nothing beats the flavour of a good oozy, creamy, smelly Camembert cheese – named as the crown-jewel of French cheeses.
Rachel Zammit Cutajar
Camembert de Normandie, as the genuine article is called is made from raw, unpasteurised milk from Norman cows that is curdled with rennet. It is then gently hand-ladled into small, individual moulds so that the curd is not broken.
Five ladling passes are required to fill each mould giving Camembert its creamy characteristic. Following a period of draining the cheeses are transferred to the salting room where salt at bacterium penecillium camemberti are shaken onto the cheese giving rise to the characteristic downy white mould that covers the cheese. The cheeses are allowed to ripen for two weeks and are then packed and shipped for retail. They are at their best between 30 and 35 days after they are made a period called “a point” in France.
As a result of the short shelf-life of Normandy Camembert, pasteurised milk is used to make mass-produced Camembert which increases its shelf-life allowing for export to far-away destinations. Though mass-produced Camembert is tasty, it lacks the complexity of its Normandy-made counterpart.
The mouldy rind of a fresh Camembert should have a smattering of fine red stripes, which indicate how strong the cheese is – the darker the stripes the stronger the cheese.
The rind is completely edible and adds a bitter aftertaste to the creamy cheese, especially when fresh.
When the cheese is fresh it is mild in flavour with a slightly salty tang. As the cheese ripens it becomes creamier with a sharper edge
The most common legend about Camembert’s history involves a woman named Marie Harel, a farmer in the Normandy region of France who was hiding a priest during the French Revolution. Though it is said that she invented Camembert, she is more likely to have improved on the recipe through a tip given to her by the priest she saved from the guillotine.
There is some speculation that Camembert may have started out as a blue cheese and its characteristics changed over the years until it evolved to the semi-soft cheese we know today.
Brie and Camembert are remarkably similar, especially to an untrained palate. This is due to the fact that they are made from the exact same recipe with distinctive flavours resulting from the terrior in which they are produced.
Unpasteurised milk products may contain bacteria that poses a risk to pregnant women, young children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems therefore care should be taken when choosing cheeses of this nature.
