Camembert was the very first cheese made by the Isigny cooperative. The curds for this individually moulded soft cheese are ladled into the mould at intervals, allowing the curds to settle and drain.

Once the cheese had drained sufficiently to remove it from the mould, the young cheeses are salted lightly and set to dry. Once dry, they are seeded with penicillium candidum, before being taken to a drying room for a fortnight.

Here, the yeast forms the beginnings of the Camembert’s distinctive rind, with its downy bloom. After the initial fortnight, the cheeses are transferred to temperature-controlled ripening chambers, where they continue to ripen at a steady 8°C for up to four weeks.

After a week in the ripening chamber, the cheese starts to soften from the rind inwards to the centre. The top of a ripe Camembert ripples gently.

To check the ripeness of a Camembert, hold it lightly around the edges by the fingertips. A fully ripened Camembert will be distinctly springy between the fingertips and have a creamy cross section all the way through when cut open.