Mimolette

A pressed cheese with orange to grey-brown rind and orange to orange-brown paste. Mimolette is also known as Boule de Lille - ball from Lille. It is said that it has the name because of the ripening cellars of Lille, where the cheese originally was ripened, but the name Mimolette comes from "mi-mou" - half soft.

The French probably started to produce this cheese according to the same method as the Dutch Edam, when the minister Colbert prohibited the import of foreign goods, including cheese. Today, it is produced in the northeast regions of France. Its colour changes in the ripening process from carrot-yellow to orange-brown. The taste also changes as the cheese matures.

According to the time of aging, four varieties are distinguished:

• Mimolette : 3 months
• Demi-vieille: 6 months
• Vieille en étuvée (old)
• Très vieille (very old)

Can be eaten at the end of the meal but also in cooking. The dry cheese can be used as a grating cheese.

Region:

Nord Pas-de-Calais

Cow's Milk

Slightly flattened sphere of 2-4kg.

Size: 20cm diameter, 15cm high

Taste:Nutty to piquant, depending on age.

Texture: Semi-hard to hard, depending on age.