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Formaggio Friday 3: Commissiekaas

In France, this is called mimolette - or Boule de Lille - as it is traditionally produced around the city of Lille, France. This is a Dutch version which is called commissiekaas.


The story goes that King Louis XIV was searching for a native French product to replace the very popular Dutch Edam. To differentiate it from Edam, he had it colored orange with annatto seeds. Dutch cheesemakers took it right back and created their own "mimolette."

Made with cow's milk, it has a grey crust which is the result of cheese mites intentionally introduced to the surface of the cheese! As it ages, its taste changes. A young commissiekaas tastes vaguely like parmesan and it somewhat soft. I prefer it with a harder texture and a stronger flavor. This piece, that I picked up at the Cheese Shop, reminded me of hazelnuts. Though we savored this in small chunks, I'm thinking about getting another piece and doing something with chocolate and hazelnuts. If I do, you'll see it here!

Had any good cheese recently? If so, I'l love to hear about it. Contact me on twitter: @Culinary_Cam or email me directly at constantmotioncamilla [at] gmail [dot] com. Thanks!

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