Calvados Camembert: A Very Spoiled Cheese

Certain things creep people out. Mold is one of these. Our negative reactions to mold seem to be inborn, and at times, eminently reasonable. There’s just something about those discolored patches and strange hues that get to us…
 
And, of course, we’ve all been hit with a wave of nausea upon discovering a festering bowl of moldy food lurking in a dark corner of the refrigerator. It’s scarier than that famous fridge scene from Ghostbusters… What do we do now? What else might have become secretly infected? Maybe we should just move instead of dealing with this funky putrescence? After all, no one wants to wind up in the news as a fatality of some silly-named microorganism. Who would envy having, “They were killed by aspergillus” as their epitaph?

Look at that lovely cheese…

Yet in spite of this, many of us love cheese, and when you get right down to it, most cheese is just dried out milk that is moldy and salty. It’s a bit ghastly if you think about it but true nonetheless. Marketing people build up all sorts of fancy terms (e.g., affinage; umami) to mitigate this reality, but the stubborn truth remains.
 
All this being the case, how could something as gross as mold become palatable, even appetizing? Well, we would argue that it takes openness on the part of the eater and skill on the part of the creator. Oh yeah, and it doesn’t hurt to be French.

Close up of the camembert. French cheese is an experience from the beautiful packaging to the deliciously moldy disks of goodness.

There are so many good cheeses out there. Some are for the adventurous turophile (i.e., fancier of cheeses) such as the Stinking Bishop or Roquefort, whereas others (e.g., the English cheddar) share a broader appeal. The famous French Camembert sits somewhere in the middle. This soft, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese hails from northern France, most likely Normandy. It is similar in appearance to Brie cheese, which is a bit easier to find in most US and UK grocery stores. The taste of a good Camembert is more intense than Brie, though, and can hold up to more flavorful wines and other accompaniments. We like this cheese a lot.

It is in this context that we unexpectedly ran across an amazing variation: Camembert affine au Calvados (i.e., Camembert refined with fine apple brandy). This is one lucky cheese. Most humans aren’t treated this well…
 
After it undergoes a careful ripening under constant attention, the Camembert is lovingly bathed in local Calvados. After the cheese absorbs the complex flavors and aromas from the spirit, it is removed and gently coated in a tasteful layer of breadcrumbs. This not only adds a contrast of flavor and texture to the soft, unctuous cheese, but allows it to stand up to a good reheating without melting all over your pan. Those clever French people...

A Calvados tasting at our favorite cocktail bar in Brno, Czech Republic. It has the amazing name of “The Bar That Doesn’t Exist” (i.e., Bar, Který Neexistuje).

Tasting Notes:
On first pass, it smells like regular old Camembert, but some differences start to arise. There are hints of something fruity. You cheese heads will especially like the off-the-beaten-path flavor of this special creation, though. It is creamy and rich (i.e., a lot of milk fat), slightly sweet, and earthy with hints of apple, oak, and brandy. Its softness makes it easy to spread on fresh French baguette or Italian loaves. Apart from bread, we would recommend pairing it with a nice strong white wine (preferably oaked), Brut Champagne, or maybe a little glass of Calvados to tie everything together. It’s a great way to end a meal and start a dessert course.
 
Conclusions:
If you’re bored with the same old cheddar, Swiss, and Monterey Jack cheeses, pick this up the next time you’re on the continent. You won’t be disappointed. We might try to make our own domestic cheater version whenever we get a new bottle of Calvados and will let you know how it goes. We may just get a boozy but soggy cheese.

Before a New Year’s Eve meal in France with Champagne and Calvados Camembert.