Camembert under threat from Big Cheese
Some will be familiar with the term Big Beer, used to refer to global brewing giants like Heineken and ABInBev. They produce mass market beers which should taste the same or very similar wherever they are consumed.
Part of that process was also to look to standardise the ingredients used in beer, hops for example. Big Beer uses hop pellets but until recently constantly using the same strand of particular hops led to a significant degeneration in their quality.
French scientists think something similar is happening to Camembert. The issue is with the fungi used to give the cheese its distinctive white rind. This will occur naturally but for mass production purposes the fungi comes from a laboratory.
From the 1950s the Times (30th Jan) reports that the aim was to produce camembert rinds that were white and consistent in appearance. A strand of fungi that would do this was identified but in doing so other strands have disappeared.
This means that a shortage of fungi to make Camembert rinds now threatens unless it can be accepted that the rind can vary in colour and appearance. Why not craft (small scale)Camembert production exists and should be encouraged.
Big Cheese is no more welcome than Big Beer
Perfectly Put