Cheaze Facts:Camembert

Are you a Camembert or soft cheese fan? Camembert is an incredibly popular and addictive cheese around the world. Let's discover more about it from texture profiles to history...

Camembert is said to have been invented in a Normandy village of the same name, in France in the late 1700’s by a French Farmer named Marie Harel. This popular cheese is perfect for any cheeseboard or night in, here are our top facts on Camembert for you cheese connoisseurs.

 

  • Camembert is a milk based, light yellow coloured cheese, that has a sweet taste, textures of creaminess and softness, and is typically shaped as a short cylinder.
     
  • Camembert is traditionally made of unpasteurised milk, known as ‘Camembert de Normandie’, and those with French certification are still made this way.
     
  • The initial process for creating camembert is done by solidifying a mix of warm cow’s milk, rennet and mesophilic bacteria, and the curd is extracted and the whey is then removed.
     
  • Camembert curd is placed in a round form, and once all the whey has been removed, the cheese is sprayed with Penicillium camemberti fungus that has been dissolved in water and is left to ripen.
     
  • It is a requirement by law, that three weeks minimum must pass, to allow camembert to ripen and then be packaged, and the cheese is commonly covered by a thin paper wrap or two, before being packaged and transported.
     
  • The rind (mouldy layer) of camembert has generally been white since the 1970s, although historically it was a blue to grey colour, and was spotted brown.
     
  • Commercial camembert is typically 10 to 11.5 centimetres (4 to 4.5 inches) in diameter, 3.2 to 3.8 centimetres (1.25 to 1.5 inches) in height and weighs approximately 200 to 250 g (7 to 8.8 ounces).
     
  • Camembert is often confused with brie cheese, and while they are similar in texture and appearance, brie is usually much larger or sliced from a large wheel, ages slower, has a milder taste, and often uses a different substance to create the mouldy rind.
     
  • Camembert is very high in fat, sodium, riboflavin, protein, calcium and phospherous; is high in vitamin B12, selenium, zinc, folate and vitamin A; and also contains many other vitamins and minerals.

FUN FACT:Camembert was a common addition to French Military ration packs during World War 1.

 

   

check out our 'gram
@cheeseboxclub
Cookie Preferences

By continuing to browse or by clicking 'Accept', you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance your site experience and for analytical purposes.


Essential Cookies

Essential cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies

Google Cookies

Google Cookies are used to allow analytical services and tools to understand how users interact with our site and help provide metrics we can use to make improvements.

Statistic Cookies

Statistic cookies help us to understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously such at the number of visits. If you don’t accept them, we won’t be able to improve your experience based on data from your visit.

Facebook Pixel