Editing Camembert (section)

== History ==
[[File:camembert.JPG|thumb|Camembert of [[Normandy]]]]
Camembert was reportedly first made in 1791 by [[Marie Harel]], a farmer from [[Normandy]], following advice from Abbot {{ill|Charles-Jean Bonvoust|fr}} who came from [[Alençon]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.camembert-aoc.org/unil-uk/htm/historique-uk.htm |title=The Invention of Marie Harel, ''Camembert de Normandie'' web site |access-date=2007-06-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104104135/http://www.camembert-aoc.org/unil-uk/htm/historique-uk.htm |archive-date=2010-01-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> She is credited with having refined a previously existing cheese recipe from the [[Pays d'Auge]] region and having launched it into the wider world.<ref name= "Carr1981">{{cite book |last=Carr|first=Sandy|title=The Simon and Schuster pocket guide to Cheese|publisher=Simon and Schuster|location=New York|year=1981|page=44|language=en|oclc=7459647|isbn=0-671-42475-0}}</ref> She passed her secrets on to her daughter, whose husband, Victor Paynel, presented one of his wife's best cheeses to [[Napoleon III]], who gave to it his royal seal of approval.<ref name= "Carr1981"/>

The origin of the cheese known today as Camembert is more likely to rest with the beginnings of the industrialization of the cheesemaking process at the end of the 19th century.<ref>Pierre Boisard, ''Camembert: A National Myth'', 2003 ( {{ISBN|0-520-22550-3}} ) claims that Camembert was one of the first globalized, homogenized, and standardized foods.</ref> In 1890, an engineer, M. Ridel, devised the wooden box that was used to carry the cheese and helped to send it for longer distances, in particular to America, where it became very popular. These boxes are still used today.

Before [[fungi]] were understood, the colour of Camembert [[:wikt:rind|rind]] was a matter of chance, most commonly blue-grey, with brown spots. From the early 20th century onwards, the rind has been more commonly pure white, but it was not until the mid-1970s that pure white became standard.

The cheese was famously issued to French troops during [[World War I]], becoming firmly fixed in French popular culture as a result. It has many other roles in French culture, literature, and history. It is now internationally known, and many local varieties are made around the world.

The variety named ''{{lang|fr|Camembert de Normandie}}'' was granted a [[protected designation of origin]] in 1992 after the original [[Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée|AOC]] in 1983. The AOC Camembert can only be made from raw, unpasteurized milk from [[Normande]]s cows. Problems with hygiene regulations have caused restrictions on importation and sale in some countries, notably the US;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-13/camembert-cheese-might-be-going-extinct |title=One of the World's Great Cheeses Might Be Going Extinct |last=Zimberoff |first=Larissa |date=2017-06-13 |website=www.bloomberg.com |access-date=2019-09-15 |archive-date=2019-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102224847/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-13/camembert-cheese-might-be-going-extinct |url-status=live }}</ref> a variant made from pasteurized milk is sold in these territories instead.