Marie Harel
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Key Takeaways
- Marie Harel (born Marie Catherine Fontaine ; April 28, 1761 – November 9, 1844) was a French cheesemaker, who, along with Abbot Charles-Jean Bonvoust, invented Camembert cheese, according to local legend.
- For example, the tombstone in Camembert states, "Marie Harel, 1791-1845 / Elle inventa le Camembert".
- Harel née Fontaine grew up in Camembert, a commune included in the Normandy region, which was an area that consisted of a rural village that, at the time, specialized in agriculture because of the fertile nearby fields and orchards.
- Bonvoust was said to have provided Harel with knowledge of the Brie-making process—a technique he learned as a cheesemaker himself—allowing her to carefully cultivate her own spin of his recipe.
Marie Harel (born Marie Catherine Fontaine; April 28, 1761 – November 9, 1844) was a French cheesemaker, who, along with Abbot Charles-Jean Bonvoust, invented Camembert cheese, according to local legend.
Personal life
The sources show profound disagreements on the facts of Harel's biography, including different dates of birth and death. For example, the tombstone in Camembert states, "Marie Harel, 1791-1845 / Elle inventa le Camembert". It is possible that the sources confuse two Maries, a mother and a daughter, that were both notable cheesemakers.
Harel née Fontaine grew up in Camembert, a commune included in the Normandy region, which was an area that consisted of a rural village that, at the time, specialized in agriculture because of the fertile nearby fields and orchards.
Harel married Jacques Harel on May 10, 1785 and later had a daughter, whose husband—Victor Paynel—passed the cheese onto Napoleon III.
Introduction of Camembert
Harel’s family had been long known for their cheesemaking in the Normandy region, but it was only when (as legend has) Harel cultivated her own style of cheese with the help of Abbé Bonvoust, a priest who took refuge from the French Revolution in her Beaumoncel Manner in 1790. Bonvoust was said to have provided Harel with knowledge of the Brie-making process—a technique he learned as a cheesemaker himself—allowing her to carefully cultivate her own spin of his recipe. In perfecting this recipe, Harel decided to create the cheese in smaller wheels rather than the larger ones of Brie, later affecting its supply chain efficiency.
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