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20.2.09

Not an ordinary war: Camembert Cheese War


Quote from the article in Spiegel,

"Camembert de Normandie" The companies were responsible for 10,000 of the 13,000 tons of Camembert produced in France each year, or 42 million of 52 million boxes of cheese. And now they were saying, after more than 100 years of tradition, that it was all over, that Camembert made with raw milk presented an imminent danger and was a health hazard. It was a declaration of war."


The subject of cheese always captures my attention:

I love it, eat it, and have even made it,
but I often find that the regular cheese consuming public in the States is not as concerned with its production as it is in countries that rely heavily on its production and consumption--unless of course it, too, is a cheese producing region.

When I lived in Amsterdam, kaas (cheese) was always in the house and more often than not on the table for breakfast and lunch, and always for snacks and guest appearances.

Some of the best cheeses were local, and my favourite then was "boerenkaas" which is translated as farmer's cheese, and is made from unpasteurized cow's milk. Occasionally a cheese-specific shop in a large urban area will carry an imported boerenkaas and make me salivate and offer me the fond memories of the daily, fresh cheese I took for granted.

We do have one local dairy in my community that makes cheese but their prices exceed their charm. Why? Cheese here is not a daily fare but a luxury item and luxury items cost more money.


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