Coulommiers () is a soft ripened

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

from Coulommiers,

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is made from cow's

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

, and is usually in the shape of a disc with white, bloomy, edible ''

Penicillium candidum ''Penicillium camemberti'' is a species of fungus in the genus ''Penicillium''. It is used in the production of Camembert, Brie, Langres, Coulommiers, and Cambozola cheeses, on which colonies of ''P. camemberti'' form a hard, white crust ...

'' rind. When produced as an

artisanal An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

or "farmhouse" cheese from

unpasteurized In food processing, pasteurization (American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), also pasteurisation) is a process of food preservation in which packaged foods (e.g., milk and fruit juices) are treated wi ...

milk, it has some reddish blush in parts of the rind. The period of ripening when made of pasteurised whole milk is about four to six weeks. The fat content is 40 per cent. Coulommiers is a lesser-known cousin of

Brie Brie ( ; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie (itself from Gaulish ''briga'', "hill, height"), the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in colour with a slight gre ...

, although it has been produced for longer. It is smaller and thicker than Brie and with a nuttier flavour, but otherwise has similar characteristics, with a similar buttery colour and supple texture. The cheese may be either farmer-made or industrially produced; however, the industrial version lacks the depth of an

cheese. Because it is not an AOC cheese, producers can make it with pasteurized milk and export it to the United States.

History

In 1930, there were 250 cheesemakers coming from Coulommiers, selling their cheese to "affineurs" at the Coulommiers market every Wednesday. In 1946, affineurs started to make cheese. Meanwhile, the number of cheesemakers declined; there were only 60 left in 1946. They were all making brie de Coulommiers (by definition) of different sizes, but only the specific size, diameter , was unique to the Coulommiers market. Today, this cheese is commonly called Coulommiers. In 2008, local councillors led by

Franck Riester Franck Alix Georges Riester (born 3 January 1974) is a French politician of Renaissance (French political party), Renaissance (RE). He has represented the Seine-et-Marne's 5th constituency, fifth constituency of Seine-et-Marne in the National A ...

, Deputy Mayor, and journalists launched the PDO project to raise the importance of a unique Coulommiers cheese.

References

External links

Cheese.com: Coulommiers

City of Coulommiers
{{French cheeses French cheeses Cow's-milk cheeses

History

See also

References

External links