Livarot / 200g / Cow/Raw/Animal Rennet / Soft washed / Normandie / 22% fat /Penetrating smell, pronounced meaty and grassy flavour.
 
Livarot owes its name to an eponymous village, located near Lisieux (Calvados). This Pays d'Auge cheese is recognizable by its cylindrical shape encircled by three to five strips. Its orange-red colour is due to annatto, a natural vegetable dye that is added during the last wash during ripening. In the past, this cheese was called “the poor man's meat” , it was widely consumed in the 17th century. Livarot was for a long time the most consumed cheese in all of Normandy. Three to five natural " laîches " , dried reeds, are placed to prevent it from sinking during ripening. Our Livarot has never lost its natural reeds. This cheese is nicknamed the "Colonel". Indeed, this military badge is made up of 5 parallel stripes too. It shouldn't be a surprise then if our cheese has so much character!
 
It is mainly savoured at the end of a meal, but did you know there was a recipe for Fondue normande with another two famous local cheeses and Calvados of course?  The Livarot brings to a cheese board a definite presence.
It will need some red wines with structure and body, or a quality cider.