A soft French cheese from cow’s milk, with an edible, slightly mouldy, ridged brown rind from curing on straw mats, and a soft, yellow, supple interior of savory, piquant flavor. It is a washed-rind cheese whose character develops during ripening as surface cultures work on the rind. As a surface-ripened soft cheese it demands strict dairy hygiene, pasteurized milk, and tight temperature control through ripening and distribution, since its moist rind can support Listeria monocytogenes if handling and storage slip. Proper affinage balances flavor development against the microbiological risks of the style.