The world-renowned cheeses Brie and Camembert are facing a potential crisis as the mold responsible for their unique characteristics, Penicillium camemberti, is at risk of extinction. This mold is what gives these cheeses their iconic white rinds and creamy, tangy centers. However, the qualities that once made it a star in the cheese world are now becoming a liability, leading some to search for alternative molds in the wild to create new cheeses.
The history of Penicillium camemberti dates back to the origins of Brie and Camembert cheeses, playing a crucial role in their production process. The potential extinction of this mold could have a significant impact on the traditional methods of making these beloved French cheeses.
In France, where Brie and Camembert have deep cultural roots, the potential loss of Penicillium camemberti is a cause for concern. These cheeses are not only culinary staples but also symbols of French gastronomy. If this mold were to disappear, it could lead to a major shift in the cheese industry and affect cheese lovers worldwide.
As the search for new molds continues, cheese enthusiasts and producers are exploring different options to preserve the essence of Brie and Camembert. While the extinction of Penicillium camemberti may seem like a daunting challenge, there is hope for finding a solution and ensuring the survival of these iconic cheeses.
In a world where culinary traditions are constantly evolving, the fate of Penicillium camemberti serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between tradition and innovation in the cheese industry. As discussions around preserving this mold and the future of Brie and Camembert cheeses unfold, it remains to be seen whether efforts to save it will be successful.
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Video “The Mold Behind Brie Cheese Could Face Extinction. Can We Save It? | Big Business | Business Insider” was uploaded on 01/30/2025 to Youtube Channel Business Insider
2:58 I’ve never heard that pronunciation of fungi
I'll PASS on eating the MOLDS on CHEESES!!
Well those mold also need to evol and replace old one to survive in new env. You cannot hope those stay the same for thousand years and still alive without something else not try to eat them a mass. All mold is toxic to protect themself against something. Human just also evol to accept that toxic.
Accidentally finding a delicious mold, great for making cheese with, in a bale of moldy hay is just mind blowing.
Not gonna lie, I'd love to taste it.
Lol why is the Kiwi guy subtitled? 🤣
I'm gonna taste the mold on my walls for science
gross arm hair
Guy puts his bare hands into the milk…🤮
Ah, so the mold is incest and the baby became weaker and weaker.
Ok so say i have done good mould growing in a lunchbox that’s been left in a school bag over the holiday – who do you post it to to check if it’s toxic?
Mate next time i go down south i am stopping past here and buying some
"This cheese is being stabbed" – Random British guy in the back: "Nice."
But if it's a clone, with the same genetic blueprint, why is it suddenly producing less spores? I didnt get that part
12:50 why is this presented almost like a solution to the camembert mold ? It's not? It's just another blue-cheese type, that doesnt look or resemble camembert in any way. We need a new camembert mold if the old one is dieing, not a blue cheese!
This video is really making me crave a full wheel of camembert
Maybe I missed it, but I felt that the video brushed over why the low genetic diversity is causing the mold to produce fewer spores. Sure, it's producing fewer spores because of a lack of genetic diversity, but why? A lack of a genetic diversity should just mean that the mold cannot adapt. And yet, it is adapting in the wrong direction
whats with the subtitles? thats just insulting, can Americans not understand others accents? we never get subtitles when you do videos showing Americans butchering the English language. double standards.
Oamaru! Its so pretty there, i yse to live near by. 😮 they have amazing beaches there abd up the coromadel I love my country and how beautiful it is. I collect natural tumbled glass and make jewelry from the bottles that people have thrown from their cars as they had gone by.
They just gotta brielieve in themselves
NO MY FAVORITE CHEESE 😭😭😭
if you dont like something you gotta give it like 5 good tries and see if you can start to like it afterwards and then if you start to develope a taste for it chase that feeling, you would be shocked to find what you will enjoy. Ive never thought to myself that i dont like the flavor of something but rather that i don't like it yet. This is advice for those scooping the cream out of the cheese rind, you're eating like a baby, stop it and think about all the sacrifice that went into your plate of food and eat it like and adult who understands what is infront of their eyes
If I could only eat ONE food item for the rest of my life, it works be Brie cheese. I first had it when I was 15 years old at a Christmas party with my parents. They had a couple of baked bries with homemade strawberry jam and another with candied walnuts. I thought I was in HEAVEN !!! To this day, everytime I have Brie it reminds me of Christmas as a teen.
7:00 HENCE why the blue roofed buildings in Paradise, Maui, the blue van in California DIDN'T burn !?!?
Closed captioning for the New Zealander speaking ENGLISH !! 😂😂
When you get the feeling the mold is just fine and the is a big commercial for cheese
No glove, no mask, ultra unhygienic…is called bacterial cheese..one hard sneeze onto it
wow . very hygiene
I'd go to the caves and look for fungi there
Why don't they just digitize the mold's DNA and then clone it in case of an emergency?
If only people weren't as paranoid about GMOs…
The researchers could probably save the current p.camemberti by swapping specific gene sequences, to create multiple strains to counteract diseases.
That and the strains could be recreated with the same original genomes to counteract cloning fatigue.
We're maybe a decade away from that tech kind of tech being ready, and that is with the paranoia and NIMBYism hampering research.
I love that the safety glasses are on top of there heads lol. That's real life in a factory right there
actually they could cross different edible molds with eachother and test them. but this needs funding of course.
So… survival of a specie relies on Diversity Equity and Inclusion… otherwise it will risk extinction 🤔
8:34 Does using unpasteurized milk do anything for the cheese other than making it riskier? Is there a benefit?
in EU we have a similar cheese called "La Blue" and I love it
This is the first time that hear the CPA (cyclopiazonic acid) is grown on cheese, we grow it in fermenters (we produce CPA for research)
Could someone please explain to me how a mold grown in a laboratory setting can just go extinct? I can't wrap my head around it. Would the mold die in transport, or while growing in the milk, or while aging the cheese, or is it going extinct purely because it won't produce enough spores? And if it were producing asexually and creating clones, how could it lose its ability to produce so many spores? Is it because of mutation? Do we even know what the change to the mold's DNA is that causes it to produce fewer spores?
Couldn't the scientists genetically modify/cross breed the mold so that it produces more spores and/or has more favorable traits?
I for one don't want moldy chesse 🤢
Shit is disgusting
5:52 Cheese scientist has a Swiss cheese ring. Nice.
I should send her some cheese from my refrigerator. My cheddar always starts to grow a white, soft, fuzzy mold that tastes just like Brie. Occasionally there are spots of black as well, but they don't have a very strong "off" flavor– not like the black mold I'm familiar with, which is detectable in the tiniest amounts. Not exactly "wild" I suppose, but hey, it's there of its own volition.
3:05 the funjai?
A salute to those early people who died eating and testing molds on cheeses.