Picture by Yoel Blumberger. Sources: freeworldmaps and Dairy Products of France
In this article, Yoel Blumberger (a home cheesemaker in Tel Aviv, Israel*) has given us a thorough description of the flocculation point method for determining when the curds are set and ready to cut.
He has also given us a recipe for Camembert de Normandie which was provided by Stephanie Conrad, one of the last cheesemakers in France making AOP Camembert with raw milk.
And finally, he has shared with us his own (time saving) variation on Stephanie’s recipe.
This is the second of 3 interconnected articles by Yoel. The first was posted August 9th – Yoel Blumberger: Cheesemaking Group in Israel and a Recipe for Castelmagno. The third article is about The Role of Cheese in Israel.
There are many other articles by Yoel in our archives and we are very grateful to him for contributing them.**
Camembert de Normandie AOP and the Flocculation Point Method
1. The background
This article, in a way, follows another one, which was published August 9th and tells the story of a cheesemaker’s group I belong to in Israel (Yoel Blumberger: Cheesemaking Group in Israel and a Recipe for Castelmagno)
The group’s last tour was to Normandy where the participants learned how to produce Camembert de Normandie AOP (and other local cheeses). I will share the original recipe with you in this article.
Stephanie Conrad, the dairy owner and cheese maker uses a certain method to determine the exact time between the introduction of the enzyme into the milk and the beginning of the cutting phase. This method, the flocculation point method, is used not only in the production of the original Camembert but recommended for the making of all enzymatic cheeses.
As not everyone is acquainted with this method, the article will elaborate on it before getting to the recipe.
Traffic sign in Normandy. Credit: Sarit Yuker
2. Camembert de Normandie AOP
Camembert is one of the best-known and beloved cheeses in the world. The New England Cheesemaking Supply website (cheesemaking.com) has even published two recipes for making it.
However, making the AOP Camembert cheese is different in some aspects (ingredients and process) from the production, as described in most recipes. I thought it would interest you to know how the cheese is officially made.
Our group learned to make Camembert at Stephanie’s dairy (Les Fromages de Stephanie). Stephanie has been making her Camembert cheese for many years and it is exceptional.
There, the cheese is made according to the AOP’s strict protocol which defines every ingredient and every stage and action in production. It is one of the last three dairies left in France still producing Camembert from unpasteurized milk.
Every day, the dairy receives fine cow’s milk from two committed farmers who grow and milk only Norman cows – pasture fed in the summer and fed hay in the winter. These cows have never been given the slightest additional silage.
Stephanie makes several types of lactic cheese, Tomme de Normandie and, of course, Camembert de Normandie AOP. The dairy does not have a website, but an idea of
