Camembert - A National Myth A National Myth

Camembert, despite now being mass-produced internationally, still remains a national symbol for France, emblematic of its cultural identity. This text weaves together culinary and social history in a tale about the changing nature of food with implications for every modern consumer.

"Readers who enjoy good food and entertaining history will be delighted by Pierre Boisard's Camembert, which tells the story of France's national cheese. Boisard shows how both Camembert and its fame were shaped by historical, economic, scientific, and technological forces, how this recently invented "traditional" food evolved into an industrial product that still manages to evoke the preindustrial past. And he offers a memorably frank and French analysis of odorous fermented milk and its transgressive pleasures. After Camembert, cheese will never taste quite the same!"—Harold McGee, author of On Food and Cooking and The Curious Cook

"Pierre Boisard's Camembert defines scholarly cheese writing with an in-depth look at Normandy's contribution to the world's greatest cheeses. A real contribution to the field of food history."—Rob Kaufelt, proprietor, Murray's Cheese, New York City

"By painstakingly tracing Camembert’s beginnings from 200 years ago to modern day, Pierre Boisard takes us on a fascinating journey of the development of a great cheese and the larger struggle it has represented between rural France and the economic demands of big business. Camembert: A National Myth reads like a combined historical and suspense novel as Boisard traces the parallels between Camembert’s development and that of France. A fascinating and essential read for anyone who loves Camembert or any artisan food for that matter, and who wishes to see these foods – and their rural roots – preserved."—Laura Werlin, author of The New American Cheese