Mimolette

Description

It was originally made by the request of Louis XIV, who – in the context of Jean-Baptiste Colbert‘s mercantilistic policies – was looking for a native French product to replace the then very popular Edam.^[1] To make it distinct from Edam, it was first colored using carrot juice, and later seasoned with annatto to give it a distinct orange color.

Cheese mites are microscopic little bugs that live on the surfaces of aged cheeses, munching the microscopic molds that grow there. For many aged cheeses, they’re something of an industry nuisance, gently brushed off the cheeses. But for Mimolette, a bright orange French cheese, they’re actually encouraged.

In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration detained about a ton of the cheese, putting further imports to the United States on hold. This was because the cheese mites could cause an allergic reaction if consumed in large quantities. The FDA stated that the cheese was above the standard of six mites per cubic inch.