A tasty northern French country cheese. This is one of Nell's favorite cheeses!

Maroilles is often said to have been made in 962 by a monk at the Maroilles Abbey, located near the Thiérache region in northern France. The cheese soon became famous throughout the region and was a favorite of several French kings, including Philip II, Louis IX, Charles VI, and Francis I.

The cheese is shaped and salted before being removed from the mold and placed in a ventilated drying room for about ten days, allowing a gentle, light layer of bacteria to form. The cheese is then brushed, washed and left to mature in a cellar for at least five weeks, although periods of up to four months are not uncommon. During this time, it is turned and brushed at regular intervals to remove the natural white mold, allowing its red bacteria to turn the rind from yellow to red.

Nicknamed vieux pant or "old stinker," Maroilles has a characteristic pungent odor. The taste is smooth and creamy, with a slight sweetness and lingering, overripe fruit or sherry flavors. It is best enjoyed from May to August, but is also good from March to December.

CONTAINS GLUTEN.