Cambozola — the Bavarian Blue That Tricked the World

A Camembert–Gorgonzola hybrid named for a Roman settlement, sold to Americans as “blue brie,” and crowned Grand Champion at the 2012 World Cheese Awards. Cambozola shouldn’t work — it’s a laboratory marriage of two rival molds — and yet it became Bavaria’s most famous cheese export.

The story

Developed by Käserei Champignon Hofmeister in Lauben and sold since 1983. The trick is in the cultures: Penicillium camemberti grows the white bloomy rind while Penicillium roqueforti veins the interior blue. Triple-cream richness smooths the whole thing out. The name reaches back to Cambodunum — the Roman settlement that became Kempten, the town on whose edge the dairy stands.

The Black Label — longer-aged, deeper blue — took the 2012 World Cheese Awards Grand Champion title, the industry’s top prize. Bergader’s Bavaria Blu (1972) predates it by more than a decade — a triple-crème blue in the same spirit.

What it tastes like

Rich, creamy, smooth, buttery — with a subdued blue bite that never shouts. This is the “beginner’s blue,” the wedge that converts people who think they don’t like blue cheese. The Black Label turns the volume up: more age, more blue, more insistence.

Flavor profile: intensity low-medium (Classic) → medium-high (Black Label) · creaminess very high · blue bite gentle
Aging: 4–6 weeks (Classic) · Texture: soft-ripened, yielding

How to serve it

With honey and walnuts — the classic board move — or spread on crusty bread with fig jam. Room temperature, always; cold triple-cream is a waste.

Drink with it: For the Classic, a Doppelbock goes toe-to-toe with the richness — or keep it gentle with a Helles. The Black Label can stand up to a barleywine or a sweet Riesling.

Finding it in America

The easy one. Champignon North America (Englewood Cliffs, NJ) is the exclusive importer, and distribution is genuinely national: Whole Foods lists Cambozola Black Label, Trader Joe’s has carried it, plus regional chains like The Fresh Grocer, specialty cheese shops, and German-importer webshops. Champignon runs a Destini product locator on its site and in-store sampling events.