Camembert

The white, fluffy layer that covers Camembert is made of a mold resulting from human selection, similar to the way dogs were domesticated from wolves. A collaboration involving French scientists from the CNRS has shown, through genomic analyses and laboratory experiments, that the mold Penicillium camemberti is the result of a domestication process that took place in several stages. …

A long-running battle over the future of France’s most famous cheese came to a head on Friday with a victory for traditionalists. …

To be called Camembert, a cheese has to weigh at least 250 grams, be 10 centimeters in diameter, and have about 22% fat content. …

American scientists set out to simulate a fungus’s evolution into the edible mold that makes French cheeses like Camembert. …

Few foods are more emblematic of France than the pungent white pucks of camembert. But camembert lovers and producers are currently embroiled in a conflict over what constitutes the real thing. …