The Real Reason Some Camembert Cheese Is More Flavorful Than Others
Brie is probably one of the most popular soft cheeses out there. We do have to agree it's delicious, whether served with crackers or baked to perfection. If you like Brie, you should definitely check out Camembert. This creamy cheese has "a deeper, more earthy and intense flavor and aroma" than Brie, according to The Kitchn.
If you're already a fan of Camembert, you might recall having one wedge that tasted particularly delicious. You maybe just got lucky, but that memorable flavor could be credited to how that specific cheese was made. When Camembert is made using raw milk, cheesemaker Patrick Mercier told Eater, "it can be surprising because there's an explosion of flavor." Notably, he added that this flavor is "not possible to reproduce in a pasteurized Camembert."
According to Eater, Mercier owns a farm in Normandy, France, which is the birthplace of Camembert cheese. His family is the fourth generation to run the farm. All their cheese is created with raw milk, and the cows at Mercier's farm produce between 15 and 20 liters of milk every day. With such a long legacy of cheesemaking, it's no surprise that this Camembert is especially delicious.
What is pasteurized cheese?
Pasteurized cheese is made from milk that's been treated with heat to kill off any bacteria that could be harmful. In the United States, soft and fresh cheeses like Camembert are made with pasteurized milk, according to Bon Appétit.
In fact, raw milk cheese is illegal in the United States because there's a chance E. coli could be present in unpasteurized cheese. That being said, this doesn't mean raw milk cheese is dangerous to eat. The Spruce Eats says that some European cheeses (Camembert included) are required to be made with raw milk, but per FDA regulations, cheese made with unpasteurized milk can't be sold in the United States unless it's been aged for at least 60 days at a certain temperature.
So if you have had a Camembert that you can't get out of your head in the U.S., it probably wasn't made with raw milk. But if you're ever in France, it's definitely worth trying this unique, flavor-packed, and unpasteurized cheese.