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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from France, Normandy, Pays d'Auge

Livarot PDOLivarot

Partly skimmed Normande cow milk is ripened and set with rennet, cut into medium grains and moulded within two hours. The cheeses drain for a day, are salted, and ripen at least three or five weeks while they are washed with salt water, sometimes coloured with annatto. Three to five bands of sedge or paper go round each cheese. Made in 9 steps over 26 days – 27 days. The longest step, finish ripening, takes at least 21 days (Ministère de l'agriculture 2014) and runs at 6–9 °C (Ministère de l'agriculture 2014). Lactic acid bacteria from added cultures, which acidify the curd and Geotrichum candidum, the dominant yeast on the rind; Debaryomyces hansenii co-dominates when added as a culture do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 21 daysSet[cdc-liva2014]Finish ripening
Temperature6–9 °CSet[cdc-liva2014]Finish ripening

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe. Milk is renneted in basins of at most 320 L.
Cow milk, partly skimmed · Normande cows only since May 2017; fat set at 26–30 g per litre; from at most the last four milkings[cdc-liva2014]
Lactic cultures · Harmless bacteria, yeasts and moulds are the only cultures allowed[cdc-liva2014]
At most 33 ml per 100 L of milkRennet[cdc-liva2014]
Salt · Dry salt or brine[cdc-liva2014]
Under 2% in the washing waterAnnatto (rocou) and ripening cultures · Optional, added to the salt-water wash[cdc-liva2014]
3 to 5 turnsStrips of sedge or cattail (laîches), or paper · Plant strips are required on the 4/4 size; the bands were once of willow wood[cdc-liva2014][inao-liva][eamb-liva]
Starteradded lactic cultures; yeast and smear cultures may be added to the wash

Total time across the recorded steps: 26 days – 27 days

Start
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32–38 °C

What changes: Part of the cream is taken off, leaving milk with 26–30 g of fat per litre

Step 1 of 9
Skim part of the cream and ripen the milk
Time
up to 24 h
Set
Temperature
32–38 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Geotrichum candidum
Yeasts
Debaryomyces hansenii
Brevibacterium

The milk may be thermised (40–72 °C) or pasteurised (at least 72 °C for 15 s). Output: partly skimmed, ripened milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Livarot is made from partly skimmed milk and is banded with three to five strips of sedge or paper, which give it the nickname "the Colonel". Pont-l'Évêque, from the same Pays d'Auge, is a square, whole-milk washed-rind cheese with no bands.

Milk
Normande cow milk, partly skimmed to 26–30 g fat per litre; may be raw, thermised or pasteurised
Ripening
At least 21 days (petit and ¾) or 35 days (4/4 and grand) from renneting
Sizes
Petit 80–94 mm, 200–270 g; ¾ 107–115 mm, 330–350 g; 4/4 120–128 mm, 450–500 g; grand 190–210 mm, 1200–1500 g
Composition
At least 40 g fat per 100 g dry matter; 44–52% dry matter

Related ferments

Variants

  • Petit Livarot80–94 mm, 200–270 g; ripened at least 21 days
  • ¾ Livarot107–115 mm, 330–350 g; ripened at least 21 days
  • Livarot (4/4)120–128 mm, 450–500 g; ripened at least 35 days; banded with plant strips
  • Grand Livarot190–210 mm, 1200–1500 g; ripened at least 35 days

Safety

When made from raw milk, ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat it, because of Listeria, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin E. coli. Thermised or pasteurised versions are also allowed under the rules.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli when the milk is raw (risks ANSES names for raw-milk cheeses).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Its first written mentions date from the 17th century; Thomas Corneille praised it in his dictionary of 1708. Railways carried it to the cities in the 19th century, when it was the most eaten cheese of Normandy. The bands were once of willow wood and later of reeds or paper; a 1928 US bulletin describes bands of Typha leaves and annatto colouring. Makers formed a syndicate in April 1970 and won the appellation by decree of 17 December 1975.

  1. [cdc-liva2014] Ministère de l'agriculture, Cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine « Livarot », notice AGRT1421335V, in force since Implementing Regulation (EU) No 954/2014 (BO-Agri)spec
  2. [inao-liva] INAO, product page « Livarot » (AOP)gov
  3. [larpin2006] Larpin S., Mondoloni C., Goerges S. et al. 2006, Geotrichum candidum dominates in yeast population dynamics in Livarot, a French red-smear cheese, FEMS Yeast Research 6(8):1243–1253 (abstract)paper
  4. [larpin2011] Larpin-Laborde S., Imran M., Bonaïti C. et al. 2011, Surface microbial consortia from Livarot, a French smear-ripened cheese, Canadian Journal of Microbiology 57(8):651–660 (abstract)paper
  5. [mounier2009] Mounier J., Monnet C., Jacques N., Antoinette A., Irlinger F. 2009, Assessment of the microbial diversity at the surface of Livarot cheese using culture-dependent and independent approaches, International Journal of Food Microbiology 133:31–37 (abstract)paper
  6. [eamb-liva] INAO, Demande d'enregistrement d'AOP Livarot under Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, summary sheet, eAmbrosia attachment 61188archive
  7. [doane1928] Doane C.F., Lawson H.W., revised by Matheson K.J. 1928, Varieties of cheese, descriptions and analyses, USDA Bulletin 608archive
  8. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov