Cheese Database

Livarot vs Pont-l'Évêque

Livarot

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Soft
Type
Washed rind
Rind
Washed rind
Country
France
Place
Normandy

Livarot is a soft cow's milk cheese from Normandy, in France, with a washed rind and a strong savory aroma. The round is pale cream inside and orange to pink on the outside, where regular washing encourages the rind. Thin bands, traditionally of sedge or a similar strip, circle the side and help the cheese hold its shape. The paste is supple and can turn creamy as it ripens. It belongs with the pungent washed cheeses, not with mild bloomy rounds.

Pont-l'Évêque

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Soft
Type
Washed rind
Rind
Washed rind
Country
France
Place
Normandy

Pont-l'Évêque is a soft cow's milk cheese from Normandy, in France, with a square shape and a washed rind. The paste is pale and supple, and the rind runs from straw gold to a deeper orange. It is one of the classic cheeses of Normandy, sold as a modest square that fits on a board. The smell of the rind is stronger than the taste of the center. A young square can be sliced, and a ripe one softens toward a creamy edge.