Local consumer dismayed to discover Czech origins of "Hungarian" Camembert
Revealing to what extent food production has been globalized, a reader of consumer blog Tékozló Homár sent in an image of the packaging for a box of Tihany-brand Camembert cheese. What surprised the reader was that Tihany -- a brand which features the famous Hungarian abbey as its logo -- produces the cheese in the Czech Republic, and until he saw the fine print, he was convinced it was a Hungarian product. Unfortunately for "eat local" or "eat Magyar" consumers like him, the portal revealed that the Tihany brand has been owned by the French since 1993, never mind that Camembert cheese doesn't exactly trace its origins to the hills just north of Lake Balaton.
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More shamefully, Tihany was never a good representetive of the genre in the first place. Even in the circle of pale socialist imitations, it was utterly shamed by Séd Brie (Séd Brie was discontinued around the end of the 90s), not to mention today's generic brands like Pére Eugene or the stuff sold in Lidl of all places. Do it properly or don't do it: put the poor thing out of its misery already.
Fully agree; there is only one brand worse than Tihany, which is the other "Hungarian camembert" Bakony. These products might have been interesting when no other was available, but they shouldn't be sold anymore as they don't even have the nostalgic value some other socialist era products do. To make it even worse, they are not even the cheapest brands of camembert.
All of which helps explain why, instead of being lovingly spread on baguettes, Hungarian Camembert is usually deep-fried and then slathered with mayo or fruit jelly.
Thank you Erik for unveiling the real use of camembert in Hungary. Just try to fry a real french 'camembert' (a la louche) and you are up for a really smelly rantot surprise!
It should not be called camembert..just like Pezsgő is not Champagne!
Sandor: correct. Furthermore, you could achieve a passable brie by taking a hunk of Séd and aging it 20 to 30 days beyond the expiration date; Tihany and especially the abysmal Bakony are entirely unsuited for the purpose.
This is not to say good Hungarian camembert/brie is an impossible dream: a year or two ago, I found a decent, domestic goat-based camembert in a local cheese store which was entirely up to civilised standards in a ripe state. Unfortunately, I no longer recall who made it, and the store is out of business.