Camembert

Camembert

What it is

Marie Harel is said to have made the first in 1791, sheltering a priest fleeing the Revolution who taught her a Brie technique. It went national a century later for a duller reason: the thin poplar box, invented in 1890, let it survive a train journey — and then a war, in every soldier's ration.

In the kitchen

Buy it barely yielding at the centre and let it finish at home. A camembert already runny on the shelf has gone past its best.

Goes with

Apple Walnut Potato Butter Cider vinegar Onion Thyme T65 bread flour

Also used with

Perry vinegar Calvados

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