Archive for the ‘Dairy production’ category
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Truffle sounds festive high note
Monday, December 27th, 2010
It doesn’t take much truffle to make a difference to all sorts of foods: charcuterie; garnish; timbales; soufflés. Escoffier even cooked them in Champagne for some of his more select diners. For the 2010 festive season, when Isigny Sainte-Mère launched its Camembert with Truffles, regional paper Ouest-France interviewed director general Daniel Delahaye. He remembers truffles [...]
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A treat in store
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
As every Camembert is wrapped before going into its box, bear in mind that it is a living cheese and needs to breathe. That is why at least half the box will be made of wood, since boxes made completely of cardboard tend to go soggy, while the cheese does not travel well. The Camembert [...]
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Terroir as living tradition (2)
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
A terroir is built on human activity and delimited by geography factors, often by geology or river basin in the case of the Isigny terroir. The special qualities of any terroir reflect the quality of the relationship between food producers and their environment at all levels. The ability to unlock every aspect of the local [...]
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The roots of an AOC
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
There is a saying in Normandy that ‘the water makes the grass and the grass makes the milk.’ Research that was carried out to make the case for an Isigny AOC found that Isigny’s milk is rich in proteins and casein. The Normandy cows play their part and represent a high proportion of the regional [...]
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Bread and butter work
Saturday, August 29th, 2009
One of the building blocks of many French meals is a tartine, otherwise known as a piece of bread and butter. Depending on the quality of the bread and the butter used, it can range from simple to sublime. Isigny Sainte-Mère’s master buttermaker, Daniel Courd’homme, makes a point of tasting the butter and cream every [...]
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One Mimolette, up to two years
Saturday, August 29th, 2009
The first 15 days in the life of a Mimolette are vital to ensure it lasts the course. Since this cheese can be ripened for up to two years, it is hardly surprising that the cheesemakers and graders are very careful to follow the technical manual. Between the cheese mould to a special press, the [...]
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The legendary Camembert name
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
Given the enormous success enjoyed by Camembert, it is hardly surprising that other cheesemakers started to join in. The existing Camemberts had branding, but there was no legally binding description or appellation for the cheese, which sold by thousands across the country. In 1909, Camembert makers joined forces to organise the Syndicat des Fromagers du [...]
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The Camembert legend (3)
Saturday, August 15th, 2009
The Camembert that Marie Harel made would not have had the familar white downy penicillin crust of a modern Camembert. That came later.In 1901, Normandy’s Camembert cheesemakers sought the advice of the Pasteur Insititute in Paris. The scientific answer came back to innoculate the Camemberts with the candidum strain of penicillin. This prevented the subsequent [...]
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How to ladle curds for Camemberts (2)
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
The hot work of ladling curds into Camembert moulds demands skill and dedication, not to mention unflagging stamina to last a shift of heavy work. For years, cheesemakers had dreamed of automating this part of the process, but these dreams were unfulfilled. The 1983 AOC status for Camembert made in Normandy gave a new incentive [...]
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A few helpers for Mimolette…
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
At Sainte-Mère, the cheesemakers have millions of helpers working on the maturing Mimolette cheeses. As the cheeses ripen, so cheese mites feed on the fungi that develop naturally on the rind. The mites are completely harmless to humans. Their action develops little pits on the rind, which help to aerate the cheese. The cheeses need [...]
