Camembert really stinks when it's ready to eat. Even very young it should be "chalky" (my husband likes it like that....) but not hard. The runnier cheese is Brie. Can you get that?

Thanks. I used to buy brie, and it used to be easy to find runny, flavorful brie.

Then a few decades ago, the stores began selling dead sterilized brie. So I switched to Camenbert.

I love those runny very ripe French cheeses, but can seldom partake.

One of my best finds was a pre-Whole Food in Wellesley, MA that had a very ripe runny Lincet Chaource on SALE! That store got bought out by WF.

I’ve purchased the Chaource since, but I never got a very ripe odorous one. Darn. It is as though some purchasing agent is Puritan American.

See the Chaource on this link. Looks very sterilized and pasturized to me.

https://www.fromagerie-lincet.net/en/

Maybe I need to puruse their dumpsters for the good stuff.

PS ”when it’s ready to eat.”

But where is it sold ”ready to eat?” Is any of it sold in those small rounds ever going to mature, ripen on my kitchen counter or in the fridge when it has been purchased UN-ripe from a cheese section of even a good market?

How did that little organic-y market in Wellesley ever come across that round of very ripe Chaource? That was 14 years ago. That variety is not always available (I was told).

Most of these look good (if the pin* link allowed)

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/philly-market-cafe-chaource--861454234992755360/

I make a ”Thai” shrimp flatbread with Thai herbs and yep, splash of fish sauce and add dabs of this cheese. Divine and gorgeous to behold!

Président brand Camembert is from France but is a down market, hard and nearly tasteless product. It needs refrigeration and leaving it on the counter won't impart the characteristics you're looking for.

Apparently made from raw milk there which isn't allowed here, as a result good Camembert isn't easily found. We've located a reliable one at Whole Foods - the brand is Hervé Mons. It's consistently excellent and has the physical runniness, stinky odor and delicious flavor as does Camembert in France.

Interestingly, I found an article about the product from some years back:

How a French Producer Creates Pasteurized Camembert - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

By rice rounds, do you mean rice paper? If the rice rounds are still white and not disintegrating, they should be okay to eat. If you don't want to use them to make rolls or dumplings, you could fry them to make crunchy rice chips. In fact, I think I read that you can microwave them to make chips, but I've never tried that.

I live in NH and always buy local cheeses. My two favorites Camembert's are from Bell & Goose or Brookford Farms. I haven't purchased them for a while but both are currently out of stock.

The only thing American camemberts (no apostrophe) have in common with French camemberts is the name on the label. Flavor and texture are as different as could be.

Take a look at the article I linked to, moosemac,- real camembert cheese made in France is normally made from raw milk. And must come from geographically restricted region.

Trader Joe's here has a good selection of Brie and Camembert from France - I won't buy domestic. My favorite that they have is Délice de Bourgogne, which is very runny, has a flavor similar to Roquefort, and must be consumed within two weeks (or less) of buying it. This cheese costs about $24 a pound at Bristol Farms but is significantly less at TJ's.

You might try ordering cheese online. Murray's Cheese should be in your area. Igourmet has gotten good reviews.

Thanks, Elmer. I will look at the article when I can.

DH ran into a high end market to get it, and it was too far from home to bother returning.

Yes, agree w you about president brand.

I may look for that cheese you suggested.

Fun2Bhere, thanks.

Yes, that is what I mean.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bánh_tráng#/media/File:Nems_wafer_DSC04723.JPG

Most of the good, ripe, stinky, runny stuff in non-cheese-shop sales are not fully aged. You either need to leave it out for quite a bit longer than a couple of days, preferably slightly warmer, leave at at cave temperature (around 50° F) for a few weeks, or, if you really need to refigerate, a number of months. If it's wrapped in a very thin plastic, that doesn't prevent the smell from getting through, leaving it will help keep away random new molds, but it's not ideal. Take heavier wrap off. Wrap the cheese in cheese paper or waxed linen. Rotate now and then. Even the most inelegant cheese can ripen.

Re the rice rounds, yes, your best bet is to taste. If they're a bit dried out, you can steam them, or just lay out and spritz with a gentle mist of water. Let them sit a bit to absorb. If they taste fine, but the texture is never again going to want to roll nicely, you can make something like spring roll pie, using them flat like in a strata or lasagna. Dampen them if the filling is pretty dry. Or fry them to make chips/crisps. Dust with flour or starch if they need some help. If they puff up when fried, dust with cinnamon sugar or any kind of spice you like. If nothing you can think of to "rescue" them is working, but there's nothing wrong with them, throw them in the food processor to make flakes (or hack them up with cooking shears or a very sharp knife), and use them for thickening, texture, etc. Toast them to add crunch to baking or a crumble. Etc. Or...if you really don't want to look at them, and don't have any animals they'd be good feed for, compost! (Though, if you don't mind the bother, selling painted ones in Harvard Square sounds like a fun way to get your money back!)

I’ve spray painted fall oak leaves. Somethings just want to be painted or stitched.

Shirt grabbed from online. I am always getting holes in my clothes, but never get around to creative mending.The kitchen and garden don’t mind.

• Petalique...This FDA recall is no longer active.... https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/swiss-american-participates-manufacturer-old-europes-recall-brie-and-camembert...but it was recent in 2022 and not the first of its kind. It may be the reason you're having trouble finding good runny cheeses. I live just south of your area [CT] and haven't been able to find a decent Brie in eons. I suspect the problem is going to be long lasting.

Those rice rounds, as you call them, are intended for making Vietnamese fresh rice paper rolls. To use them, once you have your fillings all ready to go, you place them one at a time in a shallow, wide dish of slightly warm water for about 30 seconds, then remove from the water, lay on a flat surface, place the fillings in and roll thm up. If you have to keep the filled rolls for any amount of time, lay a damp cloth over them.

They’re not supposed to taste of anything particularly of themselves.

If you’re looking for something like a rice cracker then that’s what you should buy.

I've had rice papers (which are mostly tapioca these days - hard to find full rice ones) go rancid -in fact they always do. I always smell them and if you have a nose for rancid, it's easily detected. I don't keep them around too long. I toss them and buy fresh when summer comes and it's time for fresh spring rolls. But I use them infrequently except in the summer.

As I have mentioned before my late husmabd was the "big cheese" at Maytag dairy farms for many years....so I am aware of regulations. To be sold in the US, cheese made from raw milk must be aged at least 60 days. Brie and Camembert have a very short shelf life after 60 days, so most of those soft cheeses sold in the US that are imported are made from pasteurized milk, which definitly tasts pasteurized, lacks the "dirty" flavor of cheese from raw milk.

Therused to be a creamery in Oregon that made a lovely Brie in 2 kilo roounds that they would ship over night....unfortunately I have forgotten the name of that creamery. There are places that produce a very authentic soft aged cheese, but you won't find those cheeses in any supermarket!

Yes, President's brand is awful. If you enjoy soft, funky cheeses, also look for fromager d'affinois.

Another upscale domestic producer is Jasper Hill creamery of Vermont. He likes soft funky cheeses so you might enjoy his style (but they are expensive!). His Harbison is so liquid, you can't take it out of the container! Just cut off the top and serve - it's like heavy cream; it actually pours. You have to serve it with a spoon, not a knife. You can mail order or find it retail at high-end shops, but the website offers assortments at different price levels so you can try the various types he makes.

Out here (San Francisco Bay Area) there is a lot of competition, so the medium-sized specialty markets often have outstanding cheese departments.

Double-cream Brie is easier to find these days than triple-creams, sadly. Fortunately we have a specialty independent market nearby that always has the fromager d'affinois and the saint-angel available. Every once in a while they even have Brillat-Savarin, which is not very funky, but is my favorite.

I have noticed several specialty markets have been carrying delightfully funky Camembert Fermier lately, but I haven't thought to ask if it's domestic or imported.

Thanks, Jakkom.

Those cheeses sound wonderful. I have to limit my intake of fats and sodium, but every so often let myself partake.

Some of the artisan cheeses are fantastic, albeit pricy. But as I seldom buy them, it’s not like I’m refinancing.

A few years ago I stopped at Verrill Farm in Concord, Mass to get some lunch and deli items. I bought this heavenly artisan cheese from Vermont in a small pyramid. Wonderfully fragrant and I am not versed in “cheese” to even describe it. I also bought a sort of inexpensive pasta salad, ”Molly’s Noodles” and wrote down the profile and essentials of that so I could replicate it. I added more pieces of red bell pepper, sesame oil, and so on until I had enough to feed the Woodstock crowd.

If you’re in that area, https://verrillfarm.com just off Nine Acre Farm Rd between Rte 2 and Rte 117. Family owned and operated.

carolb, thanks for the interesting article. I then went to wilipedia for more info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_and_mutton

Brillat-Savarin is my favorite too! OTOH, even the most plebian cheese can be improved by handling them correctly. When I was young and in the middle of nowhere, the best cheese I could get was a Danish camenbert in a tin. As is, it could have been shelf stable Kraft. With careful aging and just the right temperature (in that unheated place, the slight warmth of the top of the fridge), it got really good, pungent and runny but not sour or starting to ferment. It might take some trial and error, but worth it if you haven't the money or the cheesemonger for better. And even rubbery, bad brie is tasty melted on toast.

If you like stinky soft cheeses, what about Limburger and aged Muenster?

Not a fan myself, but my dad was, and he was partial to Limburger.

And I agree that you can soak one of those rice sheets and taste to determine if they're truly stale or rancid.

Check out vietnamese pizza recipes. A great use for rice papers. I have only made the most basic versions - egg, scallions, cheese, sesame seeds.

Re soft French cheeses at a decent price, I second Trader Joe’s- particularly for the Delice de Bourgogne Lars mentioned . I was thrilled to find it there at a price far lower than our local, excellent cheese shops here in the East Bay. I love cheese of all sorts, especially the soft runny French ones, and am glad I live where they are readily available.