Camembert Cheese Making – The Ripening Process

As I’ve mentioned before, in this post, I love making Camembert and so far I have been lucky enough to end up with great looking and tasting cheese each time I make it so it’s been a cheese that just works for me.

I had someone ask me what I was doing differently that meant I always turned out a good Camembert so I decided to elaborate further in this post on my usual recipe with extra details of what I do to successfully age my Camembert.

So I start with my usual Camembert recipe.

How I Ripen My Camembert Cheese

I leave my Camembert cheese to drain over night, before flipping them in the mold in the morning then leaving them for the rest of the day to keep draining.

That night, I remove the cheese from the mold and I put them in containers like this –

– which are microwave fish poaching containers I found at a local store for $7.00 NZD each.

I salt the cheese on one side, then let it sit for 10 minutes to soak in. Then I turn the cheese over, salt it on the other side and around the edges and close the lid.

The containers are left out on the bench overnight (or 8 hours) again.

After this time there is usually quite a bit of whey under the cheese, and in the bottom of the tray.

Using a clean fresh cloth or paper towels I mop it all up and turn the cheese over.

At this point they go into the cheese fridge in the zone set at 12c.

Nurturing Camembert Cheese During Ripening

Every morning and night I take the containers out, mop up any whey and condensation, turn the cheeses over and put them back in the fridge.

There shouldn’t actually be too much whey coming out by this stage, in fact your cheese should be looking pretty nicely dry.

I take them out, wipe them up and flip them for approximately 10 days to 2 weeks until I have a good mold growth.

Once the mold has started to coat the cheese nicely I take the cheese out of the containers, wrap them in Camembert papers or wax paper and move them to the top zone of the fridge which is set at 5c.

They are still turned over every other day, but this is where they ripen up until we eat them at about 5-6 weeks.

Patting Down The Camembert Mold

When your Camembert begins growing its lovely white soft coat start patting it down, with clean hands, so it doesn’t create a big thick skin.

This can also promote mold growth so you get a good coverage.

Camembert Related Articles

• Camembert Cheese Recipe
• Why Your Camembert Isn’t Growing White Mold
• Slip Skin – Camembert Rind Nemesis
• Homemade Camembert Adventures In Home Cheese Making
• How To Monitor Your Camembert Maturation

I don’t know that my process is too different to what others are doing but it has worked consistently for me so if you are having troubles with your Camemberts, perhaps give it a try.

If you have any questions or comments about the Camembert Ripening Process, join the discussion over at the Curd Nerd Forum. We would love to hear from you!

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