🧀 Camembert de Normandie

Camembert de Normandie is a lightly salted French soft cheese made from raw cow's milk, with a protected designation of origin since 1996 (eAmbrosia PDO-FR-0112). The name comes from the village of Camembert, about thirty kilometres south of Lisieux. ³

According to the specification, the milk comes from farms where at least 50% of the dairy cows are Normande (rule in force from 1 May 2017). The cows graze at least six months a year, and 80% of the herd's basic forage ration comes from the farm. The cheese is made by ladling or machine-depositing the curd into moulds in five passes, at least 40 minutes apart, and the curd drains by itself in individual moulds for at least 18 hours. Cheeses may not leave the dairy before the 17th day after renneting or be delivered to customers before the 22nd day. ³

The cheese is a flat cylinder 10.5 to 11 cm in diameter, with a net weight of at least 250 g stated on the pack. The rind is a white bloomy rind of surface mould, possibly with some red spots. The paste is smooth and soft, ivory to pale yellow. The flavour is lightly salty, at first milky and sweet, becoming sharper and fruitier as ripening proceeds. The cheese contains at least 45 g of fat per 100 g of completely dried cheese, and its dry matter weighs 115 g or more per cheese. ³

Milk production, cheesemaking, ripening and packaging must all take place in the defined area: cantons in Calvados, Manche and Orne and the western fringe of Eure, in Normandy. Each cheese carries an individual label with the name, the words Appellation d'origine protégée or AOP, and the EU PDO logo. The specification says that, of the many cheeses sold as camembert, only Camembert de Normandie has been recognised in France with a PDO. ³

A legend and an older record. The producers' sheet retells the legend of Marie Harel inventing the cheese during the French Revolution, but the EU document says the first written mention dates from the 17th century. It became truly famous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when rail carried it to the cities and makers supplied the French army in the First World War. ³⁴

Why this milk. Normandy's gentle climate allows grazing from March to November, and the Normande breed, used here for over a century, gives protein-rich milk well suited to cheese. In 2020, 6,070 tonnes were sold, from 461 milk producers. ³⁴

Why it matters to you. Many cheeses are sold as camembert, but only this one has the French PDO, which means raw milk, five stages of moulding and natural draining. Check for the full name, not just the word camembert. The NHS advises pregnant women to avoid mould-ripened soft cheese unless cooked. ³⁵