Which are the most popular Cheeses made in Normandy?

Coeur de Camembert au Calvados

Coeur de Camembert au Calvados (also known as Calva d’Auge) is a traditional French cheese produced in Lower Normandy. The cheese is aged just as Camembert, but then the rind is carefully scraped off when the cheese is half-ripe.

It is soaked in Calvados apple liqueur for about 3-4 hours, and then the cheese is coated with fresh breadcrumbs & walnuts which absorb the alcohol and the moisture. As a result, the cheese looks like it has a crust. It is aged for 3 weeks, and then it can be served, preferably runny.

The process of infusing the creamy Camembert with apple Calvados brandy, results in rich aromas, while the flavours are fruity, nutty, salty, buttery, and earthy, with a blend of alcohol that’s softened by the sweetness of apples. It’s recommended to pair it with Calvados or a glass of Normandy cider.

Livarot

Livarot is one of Normandy’s oldest cheeses and takes its name from the town of Livarot in the heart of the Pays d’Auge.

It is a soft, pungent cheese made from raw or pasteurised cow’s milk, and Livarot must always be sold in cylindrical form with orangish rind wrapped in 3 to 5 rings of dried reed or paper, as the rings of dried bullrush resemble the stripes on a French colonel’s uniform, which is why the locals affectionately name it ‘Le Colonel”.

Livarot matures for at least 21 days in moist, warm cellars. Its rind is washed and coloured with annatto, and the cheese itself has a very intense smell. The inside of the cheese is soft with tiny eyes dispersed throughout the paste, while the texture is springy and smooth. It has a nutty, lemony, and spicy flavour. Pair it with crusty baguettes, fruits, soups, salads, malty beers, or a glass of red wine.

Pont-l’Evêque

Pont-l’Eveque is an uncooked, unpressed cow’s milk cheese made in Pays d’Auge. The square-shaped cheese is sold after it had matured for at least 14 days.

The cheese is pale yellow on the inside while the washed rind on the exterior is white with a gentle orange-brown in colour. The body is neither sticky nor runny. The central pâte is soft, creamy pale yellow in colour with a smooth, fine texture and has an earthy flavour. Pont-l’Eveque makes for a great dessert cheese at the end of a meal, paired with a glass of full-bodied wine. It is recommended to take it out of the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature for an hour before consumption.

Brillat-Savarin

1800s near Forges-les-Eaux, Normandy. In the 1930s, to pay homage to an 18th-century gourmet Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, the famous French cheesemaker Henri Androuët renamed the cheese to Brillat-Savarin. Available year round throughout Normandy and Burgundy, Brillat-Savarin is a soft, white-crusted cow’s milk cheese with at least 75% butterfat, and an edible snowy rind.

It is luscious, creamy, and neutral to faintly sour when fresh. The extra aging time concentrates the proteins and salt in the cheese, resulting in deeper earthy flavours and more intense salty taste. Like any other triple-crème cheese, Brillat-Savarin is best enjoyed with sparkling wines, and for a nice fruity twist, try pairing it with fresh berries.

Coutances

Le Coutances is a French double-cream cow’s milk cheese originating from the town of Coutances, Normandy coast. Le Coutances is characterised by its rich, creamy texture, intense flavour, and milky aftertaste. On the exterior, it has a soft, bloomy white rind, while on the inside it is soft and yellow.

Saint-André

Often called the heavenly cheese, St. André is a French triple-crème cheese made from cow’s milk with a powdery white, bloomy skin. Originally developed and manufactured by the industrial Soulié cheese factory in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Avevron, it is now produced in Vire, Calvados.  It has a soft creamy texture, bloomy edible rind, and tastes like an intense version of Brie with mild and rich aromas. The flavours which can best be described as sour, tangy, buttery, and salty.

Because it is enhanced with the addition of heavy cream, its fat content is quite high – typically 75%. It is recommended to pair it with crusty bread, pear slices, or a glass of light and fruity rosé.

Petit-Suisse

Despite its name, Petit-Suisse (lit. little Swissman) is not a Swiss cheese. It comes from Normandy, where it has been produced since 1850. However, there was a Swiss worker in the dairy of Auvilliers, who suggested enriched the cow’s milk with cream so that its dry solid contain about 40% fat would enrich the flavour of Petit-Suisse.  

This fresh and soft cow’s milk cheese has a smooth and creamy texture, and its flavour is quite mild, with sour, sweet, and tangy hints. Petit-suisse may be consumed with sugar, as a dessert either on its own or with jam or honey, and nuts, although some like to reason with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs. It is also used in meat stuffings. A mixture of Petit-Suisse and mustard is sometimes applied to rabbit to prevent the meat from drying during cooking.

Neufchâtel

Neufchâtel is the oldest of the Norman cheeses, having likely been made as early as the 6th century, and known to have been made between 1050 to 1543. For the end-of-year festivals during the Hundred Years’ War, stories say that young girls offered heart-shaped cheeses to English soldiers to show their affection. During the 17th century it was sent to Paris and Rouen, and exported to Great Britain. 

Neufchâtel is a soft, slightly crumbly, mould-ripened cheese with a white bloomy-rind made from cow’s milk in the humid Bray region in France and it can come in a variety of shapes – round, brick-shaped, square-shaped, or heart-shaped. This cheese is arguable the oldest in France, and it must mature for at least 10 days.

In terms of flavour, it is similar to Camembert, but saltier and more intense, with mushroomy and nutty flavours. The texture is grainy, and the cheese is usually used as a low-fat substitute for cream cheese. Neufchatel goes well with sparkling wines, and it is often consumed spread on a piece of crusty bread. Personally, I like to spread on potato crisps.

Camembert de Normandie

Camembert de Normandie, Normandy’s most famous and iconic cheese is made from unpasteurised cow’s milk and weighs an average of 250 grams. Many modern cheesemakers, however, use pasteurised milk for reasons of safety, compliance with regulations, or convenience. This cheese is ladled into moulds by hand, dry-salted, then matured for 30 to 35 days. It’s flavour is intense, pungent and similar to that of mushrooms, grass and butter, while the aroma is mouldy and cabbage-like.

Camembert was reputedly first made in 1791 by Marie Harel, a farmer from Normandy, following advice from a priest who came from Brie. She is credited with having refined a previously existing cheese recipe from the Pays d’Auge region and having launched it into the wider world. She passed her secrets on to her daughter, whose husband, Victor Paynel, presented one of his wife’s best cheeses to Napoleon III, who gave to it his royal seal of approval.

Its body is soft and creamy while its exterior is covered with a white, mouldy rind. Camembert is usually packed in a small wooden box, to prevent the running and spilling of its gooey interior. It is best to try it with sliced crusty baguettes, dry ciders or even in desserts. Personally, I like to have it with sliced apples.

Where can you get them?

If you are staying at our holiday let Beau Soleil in Mesnières-en-Bray, there is a local village shop, Au Village approximately 2km away have a small range. E.Leclerc in Neufchâtel-en-Bray, 5.7km (approximately 7 minutes drive) away from us. It has a wide variety of cheeses! Ideally, Au Coeur Fromager at 3 Gd Rue Saint-Jacques, Neufchâtel-en-Bray which is 6km (approximately 7 minutes drive) from us. It is slightly pricier but worth a try.

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