Ammonia in Cheese

[docsconz]

To me there is little worse than a beuatiful cheese developing too much ammonia. Why does it happen and what can be done to prevent it?

Thanks.

[master cheesemonger/grocer]

It happens when certain cheeses (soft-ripened, like Brie and Camembert; washed-rind, like Livarot and Munster) are past their optimum stage of ripeness (in French, "a point"). It doesn't mean the cheese is poison or inedible, it just means it is overripe. Lots of people like overripe cheese. Henri Voy (La Ferme St.-Hubert), one of the great Parisian maitre-fromagers et affineurs used to be in a neighborhood (Madeleine) where his clientele, like Henri, seemed to prefer many cheeses at a stage of ripeness that, were they out for sale at Fairway, my customers would be incredulous. Your problem is you have purchased a cheese that was too far gone when you bought it, OR, you simply held onto it too long for your taste.