Cheese "Camembert": how to eat French delicacy correctly

More recently, the "Camembert" cheese has made its way to the "iron curtain" for the post-Soviet space. How to properly eat this product, so far not everyone knows. No, it's not spoiled fused cheese. Mold and the characteristic smell of long-worn socks are an essential attribute of the delicacy. In this article we will tell the fascinating history of the invention of Camembert, explain how to distinguish an authentic product from the surrogate that is made outside France. We will also explain how to serve this cheese, what is served and, most importantly, how it is eaten. Do I need to cut the moldy crust and eat out the soft center, or should I bite it like this? Is this product useful and does it have any contraindications? You will learn all this from this article.

What is camembert with mold

How to eat this kind of cheese, we will talk later. In the meantime, we will characterize him. Outwardly "Camembert" is similar to another cheese - "Bree". Both are covered with snow-white mold. But "Bree" is produced in a triangular lobule, and "Camembert" - in the form of a mug in a wooden box. High fat content and more pronounced taste are the main distinctive features of our cheese. Already at room temperature midpoint "Camembert" becomes like a melted ice cream. By the way, it was this property that prompted Salvador Dali to create his masterpiece - "fluid clock". French cheese "Camembert" originally from Normandy has a rich creamy taste with shades of mushrooms and eggs. The aroma of delicacy is not liked by everyone. However, the smell should not be sharp and giving ammonia - this is a sign that the cheese has deteriorated. The real French "Camembert" is produced only in kind - creamy. Any variations on the topic "With garlic", "With mushrooms", "With bacon", etc., like melted cheese, are not allowed. The Camembert should have a dense mold crust and a soft center.

History of the origin of cheese

During the French Revolution of 1791, a Norman peasant woman, Marie Harel, hid the persecuted priest in her home from Brie province. He taught her how to make cheese the way she does at home. But the terroir has not only wine. The cool, rainy climate of Normandy breeds quite different grasses than in the drier central region of France. And this directly affects the fat content of milk, which gives the cows. That is why the younger brother "Bree", which was first called "Norman cheese", came out completely different, although the same recipe was used in its manufacture. For almost a century it was a modest regional product - Camembert cheese. How to properly eat it, and what it is, gourmets from the higher world did not know. The name "Camembert" was given in 1863 by Napoleon III. Rather, he was not, but a ceremonial master who presented a treat as "cheese from the Norman village of Camembert." The emperor so fell in love with the delicacy that a railway was laid in the province to bring the product to Paris fresh.

How it is cooked

Cheese "Camembert" ... How to eat and serve delicacy is a special theme. As well as its preparation. And they make it from fresh, that is unpasteurized milk of cows grazed on the fat meadows of Normandy. It is first heated with special bacteria, the enzyme of the abomasum is added and left to ferment. After half an hour, the thickened cottage cheese is moved into a cylindrical shape. Twice a day it is turned over so that the contents turn into a homogeneous mass. Then each circle is salted and sprinkled with Penicillium camemberti, which gives the cheese an amazing white powdery mildew. After that, Camembert ripens from three weeks to a month.

Cheese Camembert: how to eat and serve properly

Since this product is very fatty, it freezes in the refrigerator as an oil. But this does not feel its taste and aroma. You need to get the cheese out of the refrigerator ahead of time and cut the circle into portions like cake. Then let the product reach room temperature. Before you eat camembert with mold, serve the table with fresh fruits, nuts. This cheese is considered dessert. You can put on the table and a vase with a sour jam (cranberry, currant). "Camembert" is appropriate in the composition of a cheese plate, when together with it on the board serve less or more characteristic cheeses. Be sure to accompany the enjoyment of young red wines that have low tannins, cider or calvados.

Camembert in other dishes

We do not forget, however, that for a long time the product was not a salon delicacy, but the usual food of Norman peasants. They used for various gastronomic purposes the Camembert cheese. As it is this product - in its pure form or as part of pies or hot sandwiches - it's up to you. Cheese is easily melted, and therefore the first thing that came to the minds of peasants is to make from it a kind of fondue. The melted "Camembert" was dropped pieces of warmed fresh, crispy baguette and so ate. Try and you Norman cheese "in a peasant way".

The benefits and harm of Camembert

This kind of cheese contains choline - a substance that normalizes the level of cholesterol and strengthens cell membranes. In the "Camembert" also has sodium, and in large quantities, and potassium. These minerals prevent dehydration of the body, strengthen the cardiovascular system. Like any fermented milk product, Camembert is useful for bones, hair, nails, teeth. It also strengthens the nervous system. But we should also take into account the high fat content of the Camembert cheese. Contraindications to the consumption of this product may be unless those who are on a diet. Caloric content of "Camembert" - three hundred units per hundred grams.