Camembert (,
also , ) is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened
cow's
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...
cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During product ...
. It was first made in the late 18th century in
Camembert,
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, in northwest
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
. It is
sometimes compared in look and taste to
brie cheese
Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern ''département'' of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mo ...
, albeit with a slightly lower
butterfat content than brie's
typical 60% and 75% by weight.
Production
The first camembert was made from
unpasteurized milk
Raw milk or unpasteurized milk is milk that has not been pasteurized, a process of heating liquid foods to kill pathogens for safe consumption and extending the shelf life.
Proponents of raw milk have asserted numerous supposed benefits to cons ...
, and the
AOC variety "Camembert de Normandie" (approximately 10% of the production) is required by law to be made only with unpasteurized milk. Many modern cheesemakers, however, use pasteurized milk for reasons of safety, compliance with regulations, or convenience.
The cheese is made by inoculating warmed cow milk with
mesophilic
A mesophile is an organism that grows best in moderate temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, with an optimum growth range from . The optimum growth temperature for these organisms is 37°C. The term is mainly applied to microorganisms. Org ...
bacteria, then adding
rennet
Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, such as pepsin and ...
and allowing the mixture to coagulate. The curd is then cut into roughly 1 cm (1/2 inch) cubes, salted, and transferred to low cylindrical camembert molds.
The molds are turned every six to twelve hours to allow the
whey
Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...
to drain evenly from the cut curds; after 48 hours, each mold contains a flat, cylindrical, solid cheese mass weighing generally 250 grams (about 9 oz). At this point the fresh cheese is hard, crumbly, and bland.
The surface of each cheese is then sprayed with an aqueous suspension of the
mold ''
Penicillium camemberti
''Penicillium camemberti'' is a species of fungus in the genus ''Penicillium''. It is used in the production of Camembert, Brie, Langres, Coulommiers, and Cambozola cheeses, on which colonies of ''P. camemberti'' form a hard, white crust. I ...
'', and the cheeses are left to ripen for a legally required minimum of three weeks. This
affinage produces the distinctive
bloomy, edible rind and creamy interior texture characteristic of the cheese.
Once the cheeses are sufficiently ripe, they are wrapped in paper and may be placed in wooden boxes for transport.
History
Camembert was reputedly first made in 1791 by
Marie Harel
Marie Harel (born Marie Catherine Fontaine; April 28, 1761 – November 9, 1844) was a French cheesemaker, who, along with Abbot Charles-Jean Bonvoust, invented Camembert cheese, according to local legend. She worked as a cheesemaker at the Manor o ...
, a farmer from
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, following advice from a priest who came from
Brie. She is credited with having refined a previously existing cheese recipe from the
Pays d'Auge
The Pays d'Auge (, literally ''Land of Auge'') is an area in Normandy, straddling the ''départements'' of Calvados and Orne (plus a small part of the territory of Eure). The chief town is Lisieux.
Geography
Generally it consists of the basin ...
region and having launched it into the wider world.
She passed her secrets on to her daughter, whose husband, Victor Paynel, presented one of his wife's best cheeses to
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...
, who gave to it his royal seal of approval.
The origin of the cheese known today as Camembert is more likely to rest with the beginnings of the industrialization of the cheesemaking process at the end of the 19th century. In 1890, an engineer, M. Ridel, devised the wooden box that was used to carry the cheese and helped to send it for longer distances, in particular to America, where it became very popular. These boxes are still used today.
Before
fungi
A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...
were understood, the colour of Camembert
rind
Rind may refer to:
Food
*Peel (fruit), or outer covering of any vegetable
*Pork rind
*The outer layer of cheese
*Candied rind; see Succade
*Grated rind; see Zest (ingredient)
Other uses
*Rind (Baloch tribe), a tribe in Pakistan
*Rind (giantess), ...
was a matter of chance, most commonly blue-grey, with brown spots. From the early 20th century onwards, the rind has been more commonly pure white, but it was not until the mid-1970s that pure white became standard.
The cheese was famously issued to French troops during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, becoming firmly fixed in French popular culture as a result. It has many other roles in French culture, literature, and history. It is now internationally known, and many local varieties are made around the world.
The variety named ' was granted a
protected designation of origin
The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...
in 1992 after the original
AOC in 1983. The AOC Camembert can only be made from raw, unpasteurized milk from
Normandes cows. Problems with hygiene regulations have caused restrictions on importation and sale in some countries, notably the US; a variant made from pasteurized milk is sold in these territories instead.
Chemical composition
Camembert cheese gets its characteristic odor from many compounds. These include
diacetyl (buttery flavoring for popcorn),
3-methylbutanal,
methional (degradation product of
methionine),
1-octen-3-ol and
1-octen-3-one (degradation products of fats),
phenethyl acetate
Phenethyl acetate is the ester resulting from the condensation of acetic acid and phenethyl alcohol
Phenethyl alcohol, or 2-phenylethanol, is the organic compound that consists of a phenethyl group (C6H5CH2CH2) attached to OH. It is a colourless ...
,
2-undecanone,
δ-decalactone,
butyric acid
Butyric acid (; from grc, βούτῡρον, meaning "butter"), also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a straight-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula CH3CH2CH2CO2H. It is an oily, colorless liquid with an unpl ...
, and
isovaleric acid, as well as volatile sulfur compounds such as
S-Methyl thioacetate
''S''-Methyl thioacetate is a natural product found in many plant species. In its pure form it has an unpleasant sulfurous smell, but when highly diluted and along with other simple alkyl thioacetates and related compounds, it is an important com ...
.
File:Isovaleric acid structure.png, Isovaleric acid
File:Butandion - Butanedione.svg, Diacetyl
File:Oct-1-en-3-one.svg, Oct-1-en-3-one
File:3-(methylthio)propanal 200.svg, Methional
Overripe camembert contains an unpleasant, excessive amount of ammonia, which is produced by the same microorganisms required for ripening.
Comparison to brie
Brie is a similar soft cheese, also made from cow's milk. However, there are differences such as its origin, typical market shape, size and flavour. Brie originates from the
Île de France while camembert comes from
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. Traditionally, brie was produced in large wheels, either or in diameter, and thus ripened more slowly than the smaller camembert cheeses. When sold, brie segments typically have been cut from the larger wheels (although some brie is sold as small, flat cylinders), and therefore its sides are not covered by the rind. By contrast, camembert is ripened as a small round cheese in diameter by thick and fully covered by rind. This ratio change between rind and paste makes camembert slightly stronger when compared to a brie ripened for the same amount of time. Once the rind is cut on camembert it typically has a more pungent aroma than brie. In terms of taste, camembert has a stronger, slightly sour, and sometimes chalky taste. The texture of camembert is softer than brie, and warmed camembert will become creamier, whereas brie warms without losing as much structure.
Packaging
Typically camembert tends to be sold whole in thin, round, wooden containers made from
poplar. Modern variations in packaging include cartons and tin cans, with a ring-pull tab for opening (Camembert in metallic boxes does not exist on the French market). The cardboard boxes are reserved for the low-cost camemberts. The product is the same as in the wooden container, wrapped dry in a paper/foil wrapper, and not immersed in brine or oil.
Camembert from other countries
A similar cheese is produced in Hungary under the same name, the Czech Republic under the name ' and in Slovakia as ' or '. A Camembert-type cheese is also manufactured in Cornwall, UK, and marketed as "Cornish Camembert".
Fonterra in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
make a variant called Camembert Log. This is a long cylinder that is about in diameter and weighs . Fonterra also make conventional Camembert cheeses under their Mainland, Anchor and Kapiti brand names.
See also
*
List of cheeses
This is a list of cheeses by place of origin. Cheese is a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms. Hundreds of types of cheese from various countries are produced. Their styles, textures and flavors depe ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Cow's-milk cheeses
French cheeses
French products with protected designation of origin
Norman cuisine