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Cheese from Czechia, chiefly Sedlčany in Central Bohemia

Hermelín

A Czech Camembert-type cow milk cheese with a white surface mould, made mainly in Sedlčany in Central Bohemia. It was sold as Camembert from at least 1923 and renamed Hermelín, after the white ermine fur, once the Camembert name was protected. The steps follow the bloomy-rind family; no source found gives Hermelín's own temperatures or ripening time.

What makes this one different

The Czech Camembert, renamed Hermelín after the white ermine once the Camembert name was protected.

Milk
cow milk
Composition
Dry matter 45–49 %; per 100 g, protein 22.4 g, fat 22.3 g and salt 2.8 g
Salt
2.8 g salt per 100 g (food composition database, as quoted)
Aroma
31 volatile compounds identified, mainly alcohols and ketones, with fatty acids, aldehydes, esters and sulfur compounds

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
cow milk

Total time across the steps of Bloomy-rind soft cheese family (Camembert de Normandie as template): 37 days

Start
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shapes, not to countPenicillium camembertiKluyveromyces lactisGeotrichum candidumBrevibacterium linensup to 22 °CMilk sugarLactic acid

What changes: Starter bacteria start turning milk sugar into lactic acid

Step 1 of 7 · steps of Bloomy-rind soft cheese family (Camembert de Normandie as template)
Mature the milk with starter
Time
up to 24 h
Set
Temperature
up to 22 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Penicillium camemberti
Kluyveromyces lactis
Geotrichum candidum
Brevibacterium linens
Moulds

Camembert de Normandie milk may be stored at most 72 h from the oldest milking. An optional second maturing of up to 2 h at no more than 38 °C may follow the cold one. Output: matured milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
liquid
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

starter bacteria begin to turn milk sugar into lactic acid

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

At a glance

A Czech Camembert-type cow milk cheese with a white surface mould, made mainly in Sedlčany in Central Bohemia. It was sold as Camembert from at least 1923 and renamed Hermelín, after the white ermine fur, once the Camembert name was protected. The steps follow the bloomy-rind family; no source found gives Hermelín's own temperatures or ripening time. Made in 7 steps over 37 days. The longest step, box and finish ripening, takes at least 22 days. In Camembert, mesophilic O, L or DL mixed starter cultures, with Penicillium camemberti, Kluyveromyces lactis, Geotrichum candidum and Brevibacterium linens as secondary cultures. The review expects the same kinds in Hermelín because the process is similar does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 22 daysSet[camembert-cdc]Box and finish ripening
Temperatureup to 22 °CSet[camembert-cdc]Mature the milk with starter
AciditypH 5.8Measured[bittante2022]Box and finish ripening

Related ferments

History and sources

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

Camembert was on sale in Czech dairies by 1923, when the Kroměříž dairy school sold it for 2.80 crowns. The Madeta dairy in Tábor began making a white-mould cheese in the early 1940s. Because the name Camembert was patent-protected, P. Hojdar, later Madeta's director, proposed 'Hermelín', after the white ermine fur, in 1944–1945; the name was registered on 9 February 1946. The dairy at Sedlčany opened on 1 January 1950, made Hermelín only occasionally in winter through the 1950s, and began year-round production in 1960. The Pribina dairy at Přibyslav started making it in 1976.

  1. [martin2025] Martín-Del-Campo S.T., Pérez-Alva A., Baigts-Allende D.K. 2025, Czech cheeses - their history, production, and chemical and sensory qualities, Journal of Food Science 90(5):e70261paper
  2. [laktos] Laktos collection (cheese-label collection of Ladislav Likler), article 'Camembert z Normandie a Sedlčanský Hermelín' (history of Czech Camembert-type cheese and the name Hermelín)web