Le Conquérant Fromage De Lessay

We discovered this exceptional French soft surface ripened cheese whilst visiting the North West coast of Normandy to film a story on Camembert de Normandie. Larger than its famous PDO cousin, and made from pasteurized milk, the deliciously sweet milky buttery flavour, and exquisite aroma of white truffles was an eye-opener.

Taking its name from the small village of Lessay on the Cotentin peninsula it shares the same production facilities and a similar traditional five-layer hand ladling interval method known as Moule a la Main. This controls acidity and creates openings in the curd to enable selected Hafnia cultures to thrive and produce an extraordinary flavour.

After salting selected yeasts and fungi are introduced to the surface of the cheese, and humidity and temperature controls inhibit fluffy white penicillium moulds found on industrial cheese from becoming too dominant.

Moist grey spots and streaks of orange coloured B.Linens, typically found on Camembert in this coastal region, appear on the surface after about twenty one days, adding yet another flavour dimension. To enjoy this special cheese at its optimum, we highly recommend storage in its wooden box, and lots of patience. Its bulging texture, flavour, and aroma are at their optimum close to the use by date.