A square soft washed-rind cow's milk cheese of the Thierache, near the village of Maroilles in the Nord, with a powerful orange rind and an intensely pungent aroma over a milder, supple paste. Among the oldest washed-rind cheeses, originating in the tenth-century Maroilles Abbey; granted原产地命名 in 1976.
Maroilles — sometimes spelled Marolles — is a soft washed-rind cow's milk cheese of the village of Maroilles in the Nord department of northern France, in the Thierache area. Its origin is documented back to the tenth century, when it was made by the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Maroilles; it is among the oldest washed-rind cheeses in France. It received its Appellation d'Origine Controlee in 1976. The cheese is sold in a characteristic square form, weighing roughly seven hundred grams, and must be aged a minimum of about five weeks. It is a defining ingredient of regional dishes like flamiche aux maroilles, the cheese tart of the north.
A wedge of Maroilles has a deep orange-pink rind, sticky and moist, that releases a powerful barnyard, almost-ammonia aroma; beneath it, the paste is straw-gold, soft, and surprisingly mild, with a rich, meaty, slightly sweet flavor that develops toward the rind. The contrast between the pungent rind and the gentler interior is the cheese's character — its smell is far stronger than its taste. Eaten at room temperature, or melted into flamiche.
Maroilles is defined by its washed-rind technique. During affinage the rind is repeatedly washed and brushed with brine — often with the addition of Marc, beer, or wine — which selects for a surface ecology dominated by Brevibacterium linens and other corynebacteria. These bacteria thrive in the salty, moist environment and produce the orange-pink sticky rind and the powerful aroma, which comes from sulfur compounds the bacteria generate as they break down proteins. The bacteria also secrete proteases that ripen the paste from the outside in, softening it progressively; this is why the cheese is softest near the rind and firmer at the center. The minimum five-week affinage develops the full character. Notably, the same Brevibacterium linens is also responsible for the aroma of Limburger and of washed-rind cheeses generally — and is a relative of the bacteria that cause human foot odor, which is why the smell is so often compared.
Variations
Sold in three sizes — Maroilles, Sorbais, and Mignon — the smallest aged less long; the spec is otherwise constant.
On the Palate
Where Maroilles sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12How it's made
6 steps · 45 min
- 130 min
Warm cow's milk and add starter and rennet; let the curd set.
- 230 min
Ladle the curd into square molds and drain.
- 315 min
Demold, salt the surfaces, and move to a humid cellar.
- 460 min
Wash and brush the rind repeatedly with brine — with Marc, beer, or wine added — over several weeks.
Watch outWash and brush the rind with brine repeatedly over the weeks — that steady washing is what grows the orange-pink sticky rind and its pungency; skip washes and it dries out and stays bland.
- 530 min
Age for a minimum of about five weeks, until the rind is orange-pink and the paste is supple.
Watch outAge at least five weeks until the rind's orange-pink and the paste yields supple to a press — that softening from the rind inward tells you it's ripe.
- 65 min
Release at the desired ripeness, or use melted into regional tarts.
