Mimolette

Mimolette is an unusually beautiful cheese, spherical, with a rough moon-like surface and a bright orange interior. It resembles a cantaloupe when cut open.

Maturing the cheeses involves storing them in damp cellars. Cheese mites are intentionally introduced to add flavor by their action on the surface of the cheese, creating a pitted, outer crust that looks like a cratered, dusty cannonball. The bright, deep tangerine color of the cheese is due to the natural dye, annatto. 

Mimolette can be eaten young but is usually matured for a minimum of six months when it is called 'demi-vielle' (half old). With ageing it slowly hardens and dries and the colour changes from carrot to orange-brown. Mimolette is at its best after 18 months of maturing: the pate becomes hard and crumbly with a salty, subtle fruity aroma and a mellow nutty taste. 

If you are not into cheeses, it might be hard to look past the cheese mites but you must remember, this style of cheese has survived for hundreds of years.

This cheese is also known under the name of Boule de Lille. The reason being is that the cheeses were originally matured in cellars located in the town of Lille, in the Northern French region of Picardy.