A soft cheese, invented, or rather perfected in about the year 1790, by a local farmer's wife, Mme Harel, to whom, in grateful memory, a statue has been erected in the little village of Camembert, near Vimoutiers (Orne).
Good quality Camembert is made from whole unskimmed
milk.
Camembert is made mainly in the winter by a process very similar to that used in the manufacture of
Brie, but the micro-organisms are different and give to the cheese a slight characteristic bitterness which the makers attribute to the oat-straw of the wicker trays.
Camembert, which is chiefly made in the regions of Vimoutiers and Livarot, is disc-shaped, thicker and much smaller than
Brie. Like
Brie, its crust must be a yellowish-orange without any black streaks. The cheese must be pale yellow, smooth and without holes. It must not be runny.
Camembert is made today all over
France and even in other countries, but it is laid down by law that its place of origin must be indicated.
The Camembert 'season' lasts from October to June.