“Mimolette, originally, we often think that it comes from the Netherlands but that is not true,” proudly says Géraldine Capelle, the cheesemaker at the head of the family business of La ferme du Vinage, in Roncq, 15 km from Lille. It was invented in the north of France during the time of Louis XIV. » More precisely, at the time when the Dutch War began, which lasted from 1672 to 1679.
“At the time, we imported a lot of cheeses from the Netherlands, which were white: white gouda, edam, etc.,” continues the professional. Mimolette, this famous uncooked pressed cow’s milk cheese, closely resembles Dutch Edam. “But, to differentiate them, Secretary of State Colbert asked cheese producers in the region to color their cheeses orange to be sure that they were not imported cheeses. »
In her production lab at La Ferme du Vinage, she shows us a container containing a very dark liquid with red reflections. She pours the contents into a vat of milk. In a few minutes, the liquid changes from white to a light orange. “This dye is achiote. It comes from a tree called the achiote tree. It is a natural dye, which has been used since the invention of mimolette,” comments Géraldine Capelle before specifying. “It doesn’t add any flavor. » Like edam, the cheese already had the round shape of a large ball, which also earned it the name “boulet de Lille”.
Subsequently, Dutch producers adopted this orange coloring in their cheeses. As the number of French producers has diminished, the aura of gouda and orange edam has eclipsed that of mimolette. “That’s why there’s a mix-up,” deciphers the expert. But fortunately, producers like us have resettled in the North over the past twenty years! “.
