Blessed are the cheesemakers: Traditionalists win out in Camembert flap

by Julie Tilsner, Posted Mar 14th 2008 @ 6:04PM

The world is once again safe for stinky cheeses. At least for now.

Cheese traditionalists have won their battle to make Camembert makers use unpasteurized milk to obtain the prestigious AOC label.

This puts an end to the so-called "Camembert War," fought over the past year, between local producers and two multinational companies, who were concerned that the use of raw milk carried too much risk of e-coli potential. Litigation is expensive these days, you know.

The local cheesemakers, however, being French, were livid at the mere suggestion of a change in process. Only lait cru (raw milk) could be used to make traditional Camembert, (and only from local cows!) because it introduced flavors that connected the cheese to its local soil. It's all in keeping with the original recipe, they argued, which was received by a Camembert woman, Marie Harel in 1791, in exchange for hiding a priest on the run from French revolutionaries.

The use of pasteurized milk would make Camembert inauthentic, they said, which would threaten its Appelation D'Origine Controlle (AOC) distinction. That's the stamp of authenticity cheese purists and foodies around the world look for when buying Camembert and other regional products.

The French governing body that controls the AOC will formerly approve the rule in coming months, according to press accounts.

Source

Filed Under: Food Politics, Ingredients
Tags: camembert, cheese, cheeses, europe, raw milk, RawMilk, traditional cheese making, TraditionalCheeseMaking

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-15-2008 @3:19PM Ellen Slattery said... Julie, great post - thanks for the Camembert history. I'm on the authentic side of the war - I agree that true Camembert (the stuff they sell in the U.S. is good, but not "real") is made from lait cru.

-Ellen
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