Livarot

Another Monday, another cheese! Today we are taking another trip to Normandy, the land of apples, fresh cream and butter, calvados and among many others, Livarot cheese. It is made in the region around the town of Livarot and has been an official AOC cheese since 1975 though it has been made the same way since the middle ages.
It is a cows milk cheese sold in a round wooden box, like a camembert, but taller. It is a soft cheese and wrapped in 5 rush leaves to preserve the form while it matures. Some of the Livarot produced commercially today is wrapped in green paper to simulate the leaves, but most is still wrapped when bought in rushes.

The cheese has an orange skin which is edible. It is washed with salt water as it ferments. The orange color in the commercial Livarot is obtained by the use of vegetable coloring, but in the artisanal cheese it is a result of the natural bacteria, brevibacterium linen.

The large size is 450 grams but there is a smaller size sold, Le Petit-Lisieux, 120 grams...also in 130 and 60 gram sizes. The cheese is in season now. The best time to consume it is from May until September after it has aged for 6 to 8 weeks.

This is a strong cheese. It is different than camembert which is pungent. The Livarot is pungent but with a taste of hazelnut. It is one of the French cheeses that you love intensely or can't stand. It is strong and if you want to truly appreciate it, let it warm up for a little while after you take it from the refrigerator. A nice strong red wine and good bread is all you need. Perhaps, it might be nice with a shot of calvados, the apple brandy of the region. It is good with fresh fruit.

It has a nickname, Le Colonel, because of the 5 bands of rushes around it. If you find it, let it age a bit to develop the soft texture and odor which are the real character of this great cheese!