France’s King of Creamy Cheeses – Camembert – is on the verge of extinction! According to one re-port, “headlines about Camembert’s imminent death due to a fungal crisis have caused panic among fans of this historic fromage.”
Northern France is known universally for two very special edibles: Champagne and Camembert. Both are being threat-ened. But not for the reasons you might think…
Campagne grapes are struggling to stay hail and hearty in a warming climate they’re not used to. And Camembert production is reportedly struggling to keep up with growing demand in the face of a shortage of its most critical ingredient.
Short supply
The special fungus used to mature Cam-embert cheese is in short supply. As a result, the industry just can’t keep up with soaring demand.
One reason for the increase is, a group of French cheese enthusiasts known as the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Camem-bert (the Brotherhood of Camembert Knights) has been campaigning to have the traditional, raw-milk production skills of Normandy Camembert recog-nized on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage treasures. And that’s fuelled interest at home and abroad…
Official concern
“Blue cheeses [as a group] may be under threat, but the situation is much worse for Camembert, which is already on the verge of extinction,” the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) said in its report about the findings. Elsewhere, another headline begged readers to, “say a prayer for Camembert!”
Some social commentators insist it’s not just Camembert and Normandy whose images are in danger – it’s the whole country: “What’s the typical image of France? A bottle of red wine, a baguette and a Camembert,” said Anne-Marie Cantin, a professional cheesemonger and President Judge of the 2023 French national Camembert competition. “It’s our national cheese.”
Tempest in a cheese box?
But industry insiders insist there’s no danger of Camembert going he way of the Dodo bird, as some alarmists have suggested.
“We always make it clear to journalists that there is no short-term danger to Camembert production,” researcher Tatiana Giraud told CNN. “What our articles say is that there is a great homogenization of starters and that this reduces their ability to adapt, nothing more.”
My take
So… Camembert fans can breathe easier. To paraphrase Mark Twain, “Reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated!”
But there are – and will continue to be – shortages. And that could drive the price up, at least temporarily…
Maggie J.