Making Camembert

The delicate flavor of Camembert

Made with a delicate flavor and a creamy texture, camembert is a French cheese originating from Normandy since 1680 although it has been in official production since the 1800s. The more mature the camembert, the creamier it is, and this is what makes it so popular as an addition to cheese platters as well as its uses in recipes.

Often confused with brie, both camembert and brie are two cheeses that have very similar properties and are created using a very similar recipe, so unless you are a cheese connoisseur, you may not know the difference!

There are 4 main stages to making camembert which are curdling, moulding, salting and coating.

Curdling –Whole milk and rennet are mixed together to make a curd for the cheese and placed into circular moulds. Small scoops of the curd are used to make the cheese as creamy as possible.

Moulding – The curds sit in the mould to level out and are drained of excess moisture for about 5 hours, they are turned and then drained further.

Salting – A dry salt is added to the cheese to give it more of a distinctive flavour.

Coating – The cheeses are covered in Penicillium candidumbacteria and left to mature for several days.

Recipes using camembert

Great for hot or cold recipes, camembert is a beautifully creamy cheese that can be complicated to make, but is simple to cook with so if you love your cheeses and want to get creative with this versatile ingredient, here are a few recipes you could try:

• Camembert Cranberry Chicken
• Spiced Pears and Camembert
• Focaccia Camembert Pizza
• Miniature Camembert Walnut Pastries
• Camembert and Broccoli Pancakes
• Tomato and Camembert Tart

Camembert and Cherry Pastry Puffs

There are many savoury recipes using the delicious creamy camembert cheese, but these camembert and cherry pastry puffs are a lovely light yet rich sweet treat for your taste buds too!

You will need:

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• ¼ cup dried cherries, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons cherry preserves
• 4 oz Camembert cheese – cut into 1/4×1/4-inch pieces and keep rind on
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 36 mini muffin cups with cooking spray. On lightly floured surface, unfold pastry sheet. Cut sheet into 6 rows by 6 rows to get 36 (1 1/2-inch) squares. Lightly press 1 square into middle of each muffin cup, pressing middle to bottom of cup with finger. Bake for 10 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, mix cherries and cherry preserves until well blended; set aside.

3. Press middles of pastry cups with handle of wooden spoon. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes longer or until golden brown.

4. Immediately press pastry cups in the middle again. Fill each cup with about 1 heaped teaspoon of cheese; top with ¼ teaspoon cherry mixture. Sprinkle with pecans.

5. Bake 2 to 4 minutes or just until cheese is melted. Carefully remove from muffin cups; place on serving platter. Serve warm.

Find more recipes using camembert on Recipebridge.