According to an OpinionWay survey for the Phormos Academy, 44% of French people cite Norman Camembert as the food product that best represents the country, and 46% say it represents them personally. For a small disc of soft dough, this fidelity raises questions.
At the heart of this story, Normandy, a major dairy region, has made Camembert de Normandie AOP its star. Terroir, history and manufacturing partly explain this longevity.
A firmly anchored national symbol
In the survey, almost one in two French people place Camembert at the level of the baguette or the wine to embody the country. “”, explains Hervé Morin to France 3 Régions.
On the sets, the star remains very present: in 2016, around 300 million Camemberts were made in Normandy. 94% of respondents consider it necessary to maintain PDOs, and 87% want to see raw milk cheeses recognized by UNESCO.
A Norman story made to leave an impression
It all began in 1791 with Marie Harel, or Marie Fontaine-Harel, a farmer from near Vimoutiers, who hosted a refractory priest from Brie. By combining local Angelot cheese and the advice of this abbot, she developed a new, finer cheese, capable of maturing longer and traveling further: the future Camembert.
Success changed scale with the railway linking Normandy to Paris, then the Paris–Lisieux–Caen line opened in 1858 which facilitated transport to Les Halles. The cylindrical wooden box and the presence of the Camembert in the soldiers’ bags during the Great War established it everywhere in France.
Terroir, raw milk and labels, the driving forces of a star
The specifications for Camembert de Normandie AOP require raw milk from Normandy breed cows, which must graze at least six months per year in the Normandy bocage. The milk is ladled into five layers, inoculated with Penicillium candidum; when young, the heart remains chalky, then the paste becomes more runny and the taste strengthens with maturation.
As early as 1909, a union of manufacturers of “real Normandy Camembert” was created, before the controlled designation of origin in 1983 then the AOP in 1996. Since 2021, the term “made in Normandy” is reserved for these raw milk cheeses, while other Norman Camemberts target wider consumption. A jury, for its part, blind tasted 16 raw milk Camemberts, including a cheese described by Marc Esquerré in these terms: “”, he comments for Gault&Millau.
What is a Camembert de Normandie AOP?
This is a Camembert made from raw milk from Normandy cows, ladled in Normandy and meeting official specifications.
Why is Norman Camembert so popular?
Polls show that 44% of French people associate it best with the country; its history and daily presence make it a national symbol.
Where is the production area for AOP Camembert de Normandie?
It covers the main bocage areas of Normandy, especially in Calvados, Manche and Orne, with a slight spillover into the Eure department.
