A guide to Mimolette — the bright orange French cheese aged with cheese mites. Its cantaloupe look, nutty flavor, and curious crust.
Mimolette is one of the most visually striking cheeses in the world — a bright orange sphere with a craggy, pitted gray crust that makes it look uncannily like a cantaloupe melon. Behind that unusual appearance lies a nutty, savory cheese and a genuinely surprising secret about how it's aged.
What Mimolette Is
Mimolette is a cow's-milk cheese associated with the city of Lille in northern France, near the Belgian border. It was reportedly created in the 17th century when France, under Louis XIV's minister Colbert, sought a domestic alternative to imported Dutch Edam — which is why Mimolette closely resembles Dutch cheeses in form. It's a hard, pressed cheese aged from a few months to two years or more, deepening in color and flavor as it matures.
The Bright Orange Color
Mimolette's vivid orange interior comes from annatto, the same natural plant dye used to color Edam, cheddar, and other cheeses. The deep orange hue is part of the cheese's identity and a nod to its Dutch-inspired origins. Inside its rough gray crust, the bright orange paste is unmistakable.
The Cheese Mites
Here's Mimolette's most curious feature: its distinctive crusty, pitted, gray rind is deliberately created with the help of cheese mites. Tiny mites are introduced to the rind during aging, and as they burrow and feed on the surface, they create the cheese's characteristic crumbly, pockmarked, moon-like crust. Cheesemakers consider the mites essential to developing the rind and flavor, and the crust is brushed and tended during aging. The mite-worked rind is generally not eaten.
Flavor and Texture
Mimolette's flavor and texture change with age. Younger Mimolette is firmer and milder, with a smooth paste and a gentle, nutty flavor. As it ages, it becomes hard, dry, and crumbly, developing a deep, rich, nutty, savory, and caramel-like flavor with hints of butterscotch — somewhat reminiscent of aged Gouda or a nutty hard cheese. Well-aged Mimolette is intensely flavorful and granular.
How to Use Mimolette
Young Mimolette is a pleasant table and snacking cheese, while aged Mimolette is best appreciated in chunks on a cheese board, where its nutty, caramel flavor and striking color shine. It can be grated over dishes for a savory, nutty boost or shaved into salads. Its firm texture and bold flavor make it a fine addition to a cheese plate.
Pairings
Mimolette pairs with robust red wines, port, and beer, as well as with the regional beers of northern France. On the plate, it goes with nuts, dried fruit, and crusty bread, and its caramel notes make it a fine match for a glass of something rich.
Buying and Storing
Mimolette is sold in wedges cut from its distinctive sphere, at various ages. Choose young for a milder cheese or aged for a deep, nutty one. Store it wrapped in the fridge; firm aged versions keep well for weeks. The gray rind is not typically eaten.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Mimolette look like a cantaloupe?
Its bright orange interior and craggy, pitted gray crust give it a melon-like appearance; the crust is created by cheese mites.
Are there really mites in Mimolette?
Yes. Cheese mites are deliberately used to work the rind during aging, creating its characteristic crumbly, pockmarked crust.
What does Mimolette taste like?
Nutty and savory, becoming deeply rich, caramel-like, and butterscotch-toned with age, similar to a nutty aged Gouda.