Once banned from the U.S and declared a health hazard, Mimolette cheese is one of France's most easily identifiable cheeses, with its unmistakable bright orange interior and mottled rind.
Why was it banned?
Cheese mites! These microscopic creatures are fairly common during the cheese making process - they love the cool, damp atmosphere in which cheeses are aged.
Traditionally produced in the northern French county of Flanders, this pasteurized cow's milk cheese is taken to a special room after one or two months of aging where it is introduced to the mites. They eat the cheese and burrow through the crust, creating a dense cheese with a sweet and salty flavor.
History:
Mimolette is believed to be an interpretation of the Dutch cheese Edam. In the 17th century, France was importing significant quantities of cheese from the Netherlands.
During the Franco-Dutch war (1672-1678) trade came to a standstill, ceasing importation of locally popular Edam. French finance minister Jean Baptiste Colbert commissioned cheesemakers in Flanders to develop a substitute. He insisted the interior have a distinctive color to distinguish it from the original.
Production:
This unique cheese is classified as a washed-curd cheese, which means some of its whey is drained and replaced with hot water. This reduces the amount of lactose available for conversion into lactic acid and results in a sweeter cheese after aging. Cheesemakers also add Annatto pigment to create the signature orange color.
The use of cheese mites, or 'little affineurs', as the French call them, create tiny holes essential to the cheese's ripening and development. Caring for Mimolette includes the regulation of mite colonies to ensure the cheese matures properly.
Wheels weigh between 5-8 pounds and resemble a slightly flattened sphere, similar to a cantaloupe! Often consumed when aged 2-3 months, versions aged up to 2 years are sometimes available. Except during the brief period (2013-2014) when the US FDA prohibited importation due to the use of mites, Mimolette can be found in many specialty cheese shops!
Curious about how it tastes? Mimolette is dense and smooth with a fudge-like texture. Nuttiness and hints of salt compliment the sweet butterscotch tones. The flavors are complex and mouth filling, with an intense sharp finish.
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