The market · Dairy and eggs · France and the north-west
Vacherin mont d'or
A soft, rich, washed-rind cheese from the Jura on both sides of the French–Swiss border, bound in a strip of spruce bark that gives it a woody, resinous scent. Spoonable when ripe.
woodsy · creamy · resinous
If you can't find it
Cheese shops, only from autumn to spring.
1Camembert
A whole one, baked in its box
You lose the spruce bark and the spoonable richness.
Cheese shops from autumn, in its round spruce box. It should give when pressed and smell of wood and cream.
Worth knowing
Bake it in its box: cut a few slits in the top, pour in a splash of dry white wine with a little garlic, wrap the box in foil and bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes. Spoon it over boiled potatoes, with cured ham and pickles.