Mimolette: A Dutch cheese disguised as a French cheese?

by Max Shrem, Posted Jun 16th 2008 @ 12:03PM

Maximillian Shrem proudly holds two halves of Mimolette cheese.

I am fascinated by Mimolette. This bright orange French cheese is the size of a bowling ball. Its appearance is breathtaking. It looks like a giant cantaloupe. After I first tried Mimolette, I was struck by its firm texture and sweet caramel-like taste. In addition, I was intrigued by its remarkable similarities with many of the aged Dutch cheeses I've tried in the past. And so, after looking into its history, I was not surprised that it was first produced to model a Dutch cheese, called Edam.

The history of Mimolette -

During the 17th century, Louis XIV-the Sun King-had both a cultural and economic plan for France. The goal was to decrease all imports and increase all exports. The theory was that it would benefit French economy, because other countries would be purchasing French products. Culturally, Louis XIV wanted France to produce the best of everything, from clothing to food. France was to become the European trend setter.
How did these laws initiate and encourage the production of Mimolette?

Regions of France along the borders were culturally affected by the king's agenda. For example, in northeastern France, Flanders, people ate Dutch food. Their diet consisted of foods imported from Holland. In the northern French city of Lille, Edam was probably the most common cheese, the most popular at the time.

However, in response to Louis XIV's laws forbidding the importation of Edam, French people in and around Lille created their own Edam-like cheese – Mimolette. So what's the difference? The cheese is produced same way as Edam with the addition of annatto, a natural food coloring agent. Although they both have a spherical shape and same texture, Mimolette has a natural rind (no wax) and an intense orange color due to the annatto.

What type of Mimolette should I buy?
I highly suggest purchasing Mimolette that is aged over 18 months, because its flavors and texture are more complex. I recently tried a Mimolette aged 22 months that totally blew my taste buds away!

Where can I buy it?
Since it's not easy to find a Mimolette aged 22 months, I recommend heading over to a small independently-run cheese store to seek out the higher quality wheels of Mimolette that distinguish themselves more strongly from their original inspiration: Edam. Most specialty food stores, such as Whole Foods, will have Mimolette in stock.

I've purchased Mimolette -- now what?
The cheese tastes exquisite on its own or paired with a rustic red wine, such as Cahors or Carignan. It's also quite good, thinly sliced, on buttered toast! Below are some delicious dishes that call for Mimolette:

Filed Under: The History of..., Food Politics, Ingredients
Tags: cheese, dairy, france, how to buy, HowToBuy, northern europe, the history of, TheHistoryOf

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-16-2008 @8:42PM James Gess said... yummy
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6-16-2008 @9:06PM Kate said... I'm not that into Mimolette. It's hard as a rock (and speaking as a cheesemonger, a giant pain to cut), and the slightly waxy texture just puts me off. It is a decent first cheese on a cheese plate though, and mac & cheese with Mimolette is darn good.

My favorite hard, caramelly cheese is Coolea, from Ireland. It is truly outstanding.
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