Marie Harel

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Marie Harel statue in Vimoutiers

Marie Harel (born Marie Catherine Fontaine * 28. April 1761 in Crouttes ; † 9. November 1844 in Vimoutiers ) was a French cheese maker , the one according to legend, together with the abbot Charles-Jean Bonvoust the Camembert to have invented. While the invention of this cheese cannot be historically assigned to her, she was the founder of a dynasty of cheese producers for Camembert.

Invention of the Camembert

As part of a legend that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, the invention of Camembert cheese is attributed to Marie Harel. At their workplace in the mansion of Beaumoncel was 1796-97 during the French Revolution, the abbot Charles-Jean Bonvoust hidden. Apparently he came from Brie and gave Marie a recipe for a type of cheese with a flowery, edible shell, as it was produced in his home country. In reality, Bonvoust came from the Pays de Caux . While Harel invented Camembert between 1796 and 1797 according to this legend, a well-known cheese was made in the Camembert region of Normandy since the end of the 17th century . In his geographical dictionary published in 1708, Thomas Corneille wrote: "Vimonstiers: every Monday there is a large market to which excellent cheeses from Livarot and Camembert are brought".

The origin of the legend is attributed by Jean de la Varende to an American who wanted to donate a statue for its inventor to the community of Vimoutiers in the period between the world wars out of gratitude for the positive effect of Camembert on his stomach ulcer . Finally, representatives of the community posthumously appointed Marie Harel as the inventor, whereupon her statue was erected, although no picture of her had survived.

In truth, Marie Harel made Camembert cheese, but she was doing so within the traditional local cheese tradition.

She founded a dynasty of entrepreneurial cheese makers who made Camembert cheese on a large scale. In particular, her grandson Cyrille Paynel, born in 1817, founded a cheese factory in the municipality of Le Mesnil-Mauger in Calvados . The success of camembert production in the first half of the 19th century was mainly due to the descendants of Harel, who considered themselves the only legitimate users of the name "Camembert". However, from 1870 onwards, other Norman cheese makers challenged this family monopoly.

Harel's original statue was damaged by Allied bombardment on June 14, 1944 during the invasion of Normandy . There was extensive destruction in the place, 220 people died. Four hundred residents of Van Wert , Ohio , later contributed to the cost of rebuilding and restoring the city, including replacing the statue of Marie Harel in 1953 . This is documented by a plaque on the market square in Vimoutiers.

Legend has it that Harel died in Champosoult , but it was actually her daughter who was also called Marie (1781–1855).

In 2017, Marie Harel was given a Google Doodle on the occasion of her 256th birthday.

Marie Harel was married to Jacques Harel, a worker from Roiville .

literature

  • Pierre Boisard, Le Camembert, mythe français , Paris, Odile Jacob, 2007.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Marie Harel's 256th Birthday ( en ) Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  2. ^ Google Doodle Celebrates Inventor of Camembert Marie Harel . In: Time , April 28, 2017. 
  3. ↑ Pierre Boissard: Camembert - A National Myth . University of California Press, 2003, pp. 27 .
  4. ↑ Pierre Boissard: Camembert - A National Myth . University of California Press, 2003, pp. 25 .
  5. ↑ The new statue and plaque , Wikimedia Commons, Retrieved April 29, 2017
  6. ↑ Collectif Sarka-SPIP: CHAMPOSOULT (61): cimetière - Cimetières de France et d'ailleurs .
personal data
SURNAME Harel, Marie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fontaine, Marie Catherine (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French cheese maker
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1761
PLACE OF BIRTH Crouttes
DATE OF DEATH November 9, 1844
Place of death Vimoutiers