Penicillium camemberti
The white mould that forms the bloomy rind of Camembert, Brie and many soft cheeses.
Also: P. candidum, white mould, Penicillium candidum
Penicillium camemberti is the mould that gives Camembert, Brie, Coulommiers and their relatives their white, velvety rind. Cheesemakers add its spores to the milk or spray them on the young cheese, and after about a week in a humid room it covers the surface in a felt of white threads. It breaks down protein and lowers acidity beneath it, so the paste turns soft and creamy from the outside in, and it gives the mushroomy, slightly earthy aroma of a bloomy cheese. Older strains were greyish-blue and fluffier; the pure white forms chosen in the twentieth century are now the standard. It often grows alongside Geotrichum candidum.