Mimolette, the emblematic orange cheese of Hauts de France.
Mimolette, the emblematic orange cheese of Hauts de France.
Many people think that mimolette is a Dutch cheese, because of its resemblance to the typical cheese tommes of the Netherlands.
Imagine that the mimolette is very French (it is often called "Boule de Lille") but there is indeed reason to believe it is Dutch...
Mimolette was created during the reign of Louis XIV, when France and the Netherlands were at war and the import of Dutch cheeses was banned by commercialism under Colbert.
You should know that the French were big consumers of Dutch cheeses and that this ban was badly experienced by some…
Colbert demanded that a cheese similar to Edam be made to replace it and this is how the mimolette was born! Its name comes from "calf", because it is a "half-soft", "half-hard" dough, like its texture!
We colored the mimolette orange with annatto to distinguish it from Edam, and avoid destroying this cheese thinking it was Dutch (given that cheeses from Holland were banned in France at the time).
For the record, the import of mimolette has been banned in the United States since 2014!
The reason ? The mites on its rind, too numerous and unfit for consumption according to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) which would have written the following sentence to justify its refusal to import the cheese into American territory:
"This article appears to be, in whole or in part, composed of a disgusting, putrid or decomposed substance, or otherwise unsuitable as food."
Personally, that never stopped us from eating it in France. It was even, it seems, General de Gaulle's favorite cheese!
