Cheese Database

Camembert vs Höfðingi

Camembert, field guide plate
Camembert, photographed

Camembert

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Soft
Type
Bloomy rind
Rind
Bloomy rind
Country
France
Place
Normandy
Status
PDO

Camembert de Normandie is a small bloomy cow's-milk cheese from Normandy, and the protected version of Camembert. It is made to ripen through, from a soft rind toward a supple center.

Höfðingi

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Soft
Type
Bloomy rind
Rind
Bloomy rind
Country
Iceland

Höfðingi is a soft cow's milk cheese from Iceland, and the name means chieftain in Icelandic. It has a white bloomy rind and a pale paste that turns creamy, sometimes almost runny, as it ripens. The flavor is mild, smooth, and milky, with a light mushroom note from the rind. It is often compared with brie, though it is an Icelandic cheese with its own scale. It is a table cheese, not a hard wheel for grating.