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Camembert as the Center of the French Universe
The power of cheese to create community and contentment
As the story goes, camembert was originally created in 1791 by Marie Harel, a dairy farmer from Normandy upon receiving some advice from a Catholic priest from Brie. It’s unique smell has been variably described as funky, earthly, mushroom-like, foul, stinky, nauseating, and the secret project of a chemical company.
Camembert, one of France’s most popular cheeses, is made from unpasteurized milk and is rich in chemicals like ammonia, sodium chloride, and succinic acid. It is rated, by a leading food blog, as the second stinkiest cheese in the world, just behind Pont l’Evesque.
Even when it’s wrapped in its fashionable French box and the box is contained within an unfashionable plastic container in the refrigerator, it still stinks to high heaven.
If you’ve never tried it, here’s all you need to know: Camembert is to American Cheese as Lady Gaga is to Marie Osmond. Got it, mon ami?
Camembert, in France, is something of a cult. It isn’t just consumed, it’s worshiped — talked about, I would say, a whole lot more than Jesus. That is, IF the past two weeks of me visiting my French relatives is any indication.
“How can you govern a country…
