Mimolette: The Great Pumpkin of Cheese

At Di Bruno Bros, Zeke Ferguson with Mimolette

I’ve on been on an orange cheese kick this month – I’ll take my autumn where I can. I like the sunny color, I admit, and with Halloween around the corner, I’m hunting for that perfect cheese to nibble on the stoop while the ghouls of the neighborhood troll for candy. Let them have their Milky Way, I want my Mimolette.

Mimolette comes in a nubby, spherical wheel, and when you cut it in half, it often reveals facial markings. Kidding. Cheesemonger Zeke Ferguson did the honors on this one, while we discussed his cheese-related tattoos.

Zeke Ferguson shows some leg

Carve it, and serve it, I say. Mimolette, that is. At 6 months, this cheese is mild and sweet with a toasty finish. Try it with Tamari-roasted pumpkin seeds and a nut brown ale or a Belgian Saison. If you come across some aged Mimolette with intense butterscotch notes, pour some Calvados, then stoke a fire and lay out the sheepskin rugs.

Mimolette is a French cheese from Normandy with roots in the Netherlands, where Gouda and Edam are produced. The tangerine hue comes from Annatto, a plant dye that is also used to color Sparkenhoe Red Leicester. The slightly peppery taste of Annatto gives Mimolette a hint of smokiness – think of paprika. You can taste a little fire, but there’s nothing sharp or spicy. Even your trick-or-treaters could learn to like it.

Here it is, unadorned, with some apples. Also nice. This is a good cheese for those with a delicate palate. Personally, I like a cheese that's more stubborn. But then, I am trying, I really am, to recognize those subtle notes, to love the un-ghoulish ones. And mild'n smoky Mimolette is a good place to start.