Camembert
Production area	Normandy, France
Milk	Cow, or occasionally goat
Pasteurized	traditionally no, but often commercially yes.
Texture	soft
Fat content	approx. 22%
Protein content
Dimensions/weight	250g
Aging time	At least 21 days
Certification	"Camembert de Normandie" Appellation d'origine contrôlée

Camembert is a soft, creamy French cheese. It is named after the village of Camembert in the Orne département of Normandy in northern France, where it originated. Download high resolution version (837x800, 53 KB) Camembert, a type of Protected Designation of Origin cheese made in France. ... Jump to: navigation, search Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ... Jump to: navigation, search Pasteurization is the process of heating food for the purpose of killing harmful organisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, molds, and yeasts. ... Appellation dOrigine Contrôlée (AOC), which roughly translates as term of origin is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, by the government bureau Institut National des Appellations dOrigine (INAO). ... Jump to: navigation, search Cheese is a solid food made from the curdled milk of cows, goats, sheep, or other mammals. ... Camembert is a commune located in the Orne département of the Basse-Normandie région in France. ... Orne is a département in the northwest of France named after the Orne River. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France, roughly analogous to British counties. ... Jump to: navigation, search Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ...

Production

Camembert is made from unpasteurized cow's milk, and is ripened by the moulds Penicillium candidum and Penicillium camemberti for at least three weeks. It is produced in small rounds, about 250 grams in weight, which are wrapped in paper and boxed in thin wooden boxes. Jump to: navigation, search Look up Cow on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Cow may refer to: Cattle regardless of sex (in vernacular usage). ... Jump to: navigation, search A glass of cows milk Milk most often means the nutrient fluid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals. ... Moldy cream cheese Molds (British English: moulds) are various fungi that cover surfaces as fluffy mycelium and usually produce masses of asexual, sometimes sexual spores. ... The gram or gramme, symbol g, is a unit of mass, and is defined as one one-thousandth of the SI base unit kilogram (i. ...

Characteristics

When fresh, it is quite crumbly and relatively hard, but it characteristically ripens and becomes more runny and strongly flavoured as it ages.

Camembert can be used in many dishes, but it is popularly eaten uncooked on bread or with wine or meat, to enjoy the subtle flavour and texture which do not survive heating.

History

Camembert was reputedly invented in 1791 by Marie Harel, a farmer from Normandy. However, the origin of the cheese we know today as camembert is more likely to rest with the beginnings of the industrialisation of the cheese-making process at the end of the 19th century. In 1890, an engineer, M. Ridel invented the wooden box which 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. 1791 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Before fungi were properly understood, the colour of Camembert rind 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. Divisions Chytridiomycota Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota The Fungi (singular: fungus) are a large group of organisms ranked as a kingdom within the Domain Eukaryota. ...

Camembert cheese showing the wooden box

The cheese was famously issued to French troops in the first world war, becoming firmly fixed in the 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. This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ... This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ...

The cheese is said to have inspired Salvador Dalí to create his famous painting, The Persistence of Memory. Its "melting" watches were inspired by the sight of a melting wheel of over-ripe Camembert. Jump to: navigation, search Salvador Dalí as photographed in 1934 by Carl Van Vechten Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening, 1944 Lithography by Salvador Dali. ... The Persistence of Memory The Persistence of Memory is one of the most famous paintings by artist Salvador Dalí. It was painted in 1931 and first exhibited the following year. ...

It was granted a protected designation of origin in 1983. Protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) are classifications defined in European Union Law to protect regional foods. ...

External links

• Camembert website
• Camembert AOC

References

Camembert: A National Myth by Pierre Boisard ISBN 0520225503 claims that Camembert was one of the first globalised, homogenised and standardised foods.