Brie and Camembert

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

I received, from a friend who was leaving town, a couple of containers of brie and camambert, but as is common with these cheeses, they're both hard enough to grate. No nice oozy, creamy, spreadable cheese. Is it possible to get them to ripen further (or at all)? They're in the fridge right now, so if I take them out and let them sit on the counter for a while, still wrapped in the paper they came in, could they become something more "brie-like" in  time? This is grocery-store cheese, not something from a good cheese merchant. Thanks for your advice.

[blue_dolphin]

I’ve had decent success coaxing a bit of ooze from a firm cheese, assuming it’s whole, not a wedge. I’d go with a cool-ish room temp, if possible. Cave temp, if you will. 

[Ddanno]

The camembert should still bake nicely as long as it's not too far gone. Letting them both get to room temp for a day or so should give you an idea of whether they'll recover.

[KennethT]

53 minutes ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

I received, from a friend who was leaving town, a couple of containers of brie and camambert, but as is common with these cheeses, they're both hard enough to grate. No nice oozy, creamy, spreadable cheese. Is it possible to get them to ripen further (or at all)? They're in the fridge right now, so if I take them out and let them sit on the counter for a while, still wrapped in the paper they came in, could they become something more "brie-like" in  time? This is grocery-store cheese, not something from a good cheese merchant. Thanks for your advice.

I don't understand - are they hard because they haven't been aged at all or because they've dehydrated through sitting around?  I've never seen a hard camembert, but all the ones I've seen were either in a well known NYC cheese shop that does its own affinage or in France.

[rotuts]

@Nancy in Pátzcuaro

 

I would enjoy seeing pics of the cheese you mention 

 

then we all can work from there.

 

at a minimum :  you can make Fromage Forte 

 

a la J Pepin

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=0zq5wv8kG58&t=4s

 

 

[liuzhou]

I'm confused too. I've never encountered a Brie or Camembert that was gratable, yet you say it's common. How old are these cheeses?

Edited yesterday at 02:43 AM by liuzhou (log)

[gulfporter]

I have had goat camembert in Mexico that was dry.  Is yours from goat milk?  

[KennethT]

27 minutes ago, gulfporter said:

I have had goat camembert in Mexico that was dry.  Is yours from goat milk?  

I dont' understand this either.  By definition, camembert (the cheese) is made from cow's milk in the village of Camembert, in Normandy - France.  Are they just calling it camembert but it's made in Mexico, or was this french camembert exported to Mexico?

[blue_dolphin]

When I replied above, I assumed “hard enough to grate” was a bit of hyperbole but I agree with @rotuts that fromage fort may indeed be the best use if this is truly the case. 

[TdeV]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/larry-olmsted-real-food-fake-food-new-book-investigates-fraud-labels/

 

Turns out there's a lot of mislabelling around.

 

Larry Olmsted's book was published in 2016 and has LOTS of instances of misappropriated food labels. I found it a fascinating read.

 

 

Edited to add that I have no idea if this is the case here.

 

 

Edited Saturday at 08:42 PM by TdeV (log)

[gulfporter]

20 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I dont' understand this either.  By definition, camembert (the cheese) is made from cow's milk in the village of Camembert, in Normandy - France.  Are they just calling it camembert but it's made in Mexico, or was this french camembert exported to Mexico?

It's made in MEX from goat milk.  Not uncommon in Central Mexico. 

[liuzhou]

Unfortunately, The names ‘Camembert’ and ‘Brie’ are not protected. Only the specific name ‘Camembert de Normandie’ is. In the case of Brie, only ‘Brie de Meaux‘ and ‘Brie de Melun’ are. So anyone, anywhere can call their cheeses Brie or Camembert in the same way that cheddar cheese is made around the world not only in Cheddar in England where it originated.

 

So, the likes of Mexican Camembert is not really fake in legal terms, but morally dubious. Most countries at least make an attempt to stick to the original recipe when making off-piste versions in other counties.

 

The Mexican goat Camembert sounds terrible and I'm a goat's cheese lover.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 02:44 AM by liuzhou (log)

[gulfporter]

MXN camembert that I buy is quite nice.  The ones I buy could not be grated.  They are soft, maybe not as soft as the DOC camembert of France; though I can't fairly compare as I've only eaten the former for the past 15 years.    

 

To add another comparison, MXN manchego is soft, compared to the hard manchego of Spain.  I eat and enjoy both of these regularly both in MX and in ESP.  

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 12:16 AM by gulfporter (log)

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Well, they are both made in the US but sold here in Mexico with only Spanish on the box. "President" is the label on both, and bought in Costco (not from a cheese merchant). Obviously not fine examples of the cheeses. The brie has been used up (and I did actually grate it for one use) but the camembert is intact in its packaging. I will put it out on the counter for a few days to see if it will actually soften enough to be spreadable on a cracker. I know this is mass-produced cheese, but surely it will ripen a little more once out of the fridge. I remember the original purchaser serving wedges of the brie, probably fresh from the fridge and hence flavorless, and the texture wasn't anywhere close to what I think of as brie. This is not the first time this particular person bought the cheeses at Costco and served them at informal get-togethers. 

 

The camembert is now resting on the counter. I'll report back in a few days when I try it. I admit to liking stinky, oozy cheeses when given a choice. My mom used to talk about my German great-grandmother who loved limburger, so perhaps I come by it honestly. It had to be kept outside because it would stink up the house. I don't recall if they made her eat it outside as well!