Camembert (/ˈkæməmbɛər/ KAM-əm-bair, UK also /-mɒm-/ -⁠om-, French: [kamɑ̃bɛʁ] ⓘ) is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese.

[2] The cheese is made by inoculating warmed cow milk with mesophilic bacteria, then adding rennet and allowing the mixture to coagulate.

The curd is then cut into roughly 1 cm (1/2 inch) cubes, salted, and transferred to low cylindrical camembert molds.

Camembert was reputedly first made in 1791 by Marie Harel, a farmer from Normandy, following advice from Abbot Charles-Jean Bonvoust [fr] who came from Alençon.

[3] She is credited with having refined a previously existing cheese recipe from the Pays d'Auge region and having launched it into the wider world.

[4] She passed her secrets on to her daughter, whose husband, Victor Paynel, presented one of his wife's best cheeses to Napoleon III, who gave to it his royal seal of approval.

[5] In 1890, an engineer, M. Ridel, devised the wooden box that was used to carry the cheese and helped to send it for longer distances, in particular to America, where it became very popular.

Problems with hygiene regulations have caused restrictions on importation and sale in some countries, notably the US;[6] a variant made from pasteurized milk is sold in these territories instead.

[10] This difference in size and rind coverage gives Camembert a slightly stronger flavor compared to Brie ripened for the same duration.

Modern variations in packaging include cartons and tin cans, with a ring-pull tab for opening (Camembert in metallic boxes does not exist on the French market).