Genuine camembert cheese is slowly dwindling

There's a reason the stuff is as magical as it is... Photo / 123rf

It's been a staple on cheese platters for centuries, but in surprising, and utterly devastating news, the beloved soft cheese you know may become a thing of the past.

Despite the fact 360 million wheels of camembert used to be produced annually in France, and it's the nation's second most popular cheese, le fromage is changing.

Genuine camembert, aka the real-deal stuff from Normandy in France, has to undergo a strict process for it to be PDO (French Protected Designations of Origin) certified.

Bloomberg reports: "A PDO Camembert de Normandie must be made with unfiltered raw milk with a fat content of at least 38 per cent that comes from cows from France's northern Normandy province, fed under strict conditions - grass and hay from local pastures. The milk must be hand-ladled in four or more layers into specific moulds. Milk is transported no farther than the distance that cows can slowly dawdle in search of a fresh blade of grass."

Look, it may seem like a deal and a half, but there's a reason the stuff is as magical as it is.

So what's the issue? Surely the process can go on.

Non.

This process is being chopped and changed, as smaller cheesemaking farms are taken over by larger companies.

360 million wheels of camembert used to be produced annually in France.

The companies, which are driven by profit and the bottom line, look for ways to speed up the process. They take shortcuts, like swapping out raw milk for pasteurised variations, which render the cheese "unauthentic".

While the mass produced camembert may provide a cheaper option for price-concerned buyers, the fact remains it will never come close to the genuine stuff.

The rind is impenetrable, and soft with a rubbery middle; a poor substitute for the rich, soft, creamy centre of the PDO certified camembert.

Only 4 million of the 360 million wheels that used to be produced annually are now authentic.

We are living in dark times indeed.

RIP true camembert, gone but never forgotten.