Cheeses of Livarot
A Pays d'Auge town whose washed-rind cheese wears five strips of sedge and is nicknamed the Colonel.
Made, aged and sold here
Best time: May to October.
Livarot is a small town on the river Vie in the heart of the Pays d'Auge, Normandy's cheese and cider country. Its cheese, Livarot, is one of the oldest of Normandy: a round, washed-rind cow's milk cheese with an orange rind and a strong smell. It is wrapped with five strips of sedge or paper, which earned it the nickname the Colonel, after an officer's stripes.
The cheese
Livarot is made from cow's milk, its curd cut, drained and moulded, then washed regularly with brine and coloured with annatto as it ripens. The bands around it once held the soft cheese in shape. It ages for at least three weeks and often longer. The rind is sticky and the smell earthy and strong, but the paste is supple and full flavoured. It is a protected name.
The town and the valley
Livarot has half-timbered houses, a church and a cheese dairy that welcomes visitors. The Vie valley around it is all orchards and pasture, with manor houses and farms making cider, pommeau and Calvados. A cheese fair has been held in the town in summer. Camembert, Vimoutiers and Pont-l'Évêque are all within a short drive.
A trail idea for Livarot
- Livarot town Look for the cheese with its five bands in local shops.
- A cheese dairy See Livarot washed and banded where tours are offered.
- Cider route Follow the Route du Cidre to farms making cider and Calvados.
- Saint-Germain-de-Livet A small chequered château of brick and stone nearby.
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Livarot" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets, caves and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Livarot: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source