Mons
OVALIE CENDREE
- Goat
- Centre-Val de Loire
- Soft cheese bloomy rind
- Pasteurized milk
- France
- Dairy
- New
-
Milk type
Cow
-
Region of origin
Normandie
-
Cheese type
Uncooked pressed cheese
-
Heat treatment
Pasteurized milk
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Country of origin
France
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Type of production
Dairy
Mons
MIMOLETTE AGED +18 months
€14.96
Mimolette, the famous "Lille ball" with its bright orange paste, aged in natural caves. Made in Normandy (Manche).
Approx weight: 3 kg.
Under its grey-brown rind, with its moth-eaten, moon-like texture, the smooth, even paste reveals a bright orange colour. Quite brittle and crumbly when young, it turns more melting as it ages. The nose recalls curry and slow-cooked dishes at the surface, with softer, rounder notes at the core; on the palate, it carries cocoa-like, mellow notes.
Mimolette, nicknamed the "Lille ball", is very much of French origin, even if it shares common roots with Dutch Edam. Its distinctive orange colour comes from annatto, a natural plant-based dye, a practice dating back to the 17th century, when Colbert required French cheeses to be coloured in order to tell them apart from Dutch cheeses, then under embargo. Even today, genuine Mimolette is recognised by its natural, non-waxed rind, which is very much part of its identity.
The milk is first lightly matured before a fast coagulation. The curd is then cut to help drain off the whey, before being moulded and pressed for a fairly long stretch, then brine-salted.
In the cave, the cheeses are gradually colonised by naturally present cheese mites, which help form their distinctive rind. Ageing is slow and painstaking, sometimes stretching to 24 months: the cheeses are regularly turned and brushed throughout, to keep the development of these mites under control.
Our Mimolette is aged between 18 and 20 months. We'd suggest it shaved into curls for an aperitif or to finish a meal, or grated over hot dishes. It pairs well with a sweet red wine (Pineau, Port, Maury) or a brown ale.
- French cow's milk cheese (Normandy)
- Natural rind, not waxed
- Naturally coloured with annatto
- Slow ageing, up to 24 months
- Bright orange paste, brittle when young, softer with age
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