What Kind Of Cheese Is Babybel Anyway?

When you see the tiny wheel covered in red wax, you can almost imagine it in a miniature model of a cheese monger's shop. Slightly larger than a silver dollar, Mini Babybel, as it's properly called, looks just like a "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" version of the giant wheels of Edam cheese you'd find in a shop in the Netherlands. When you peel away the red wax casing of the original Mini Babybel, you will find 100% real cheese, but the type of cheese is still somewhat of a mystery.

Babybel is produced in the United States by Bel Brands, a division of Le Groupe Bel, founded in the Jura region of eastern France in 1865 by Jules Bel. Jules' son Léon launched the Babybel brand in 1933 as a conventionally-sized Edam-style cheese made in France. Mini Babybel was born in 1977 and is now marketed in 50 countries around the world.

Edam is one of those cheeses from around the world that everyone should try. It is a somewhat sharp and salty, nutty-flavored semisoft cheese. Although the cheese was first made in a town of the same name in the northern part of the Netherlands, the name Edam is not a registered domain of origin. In the European Union, a designated registered domain of origin means only food from that domain and prepared in a specific way can be called by the domain's name (hence, Champagne is only made in Champagne, Parma ham is only produced in Parma). However, a registered domain for Edam-style cheese is made in Edam and elsewhere in the Netherlands: Edam of Holland.

In the United States, there are now six kinds of Babybel cheeses, each covered in a wax layer of different colors: Original, Light, Gouda, White Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Monterrey Jack. The brand also produces two plant-based, vegan versions, including a white cheddar style. It's unclear if Mini Babybel's original flavor is still made in the Edam style. In the U.S., the brand website only says that it is "100% real semisoft cheese goodness." A similar description is used to describe the cheese on brand websites in other countries. Only the United Kingdom website calls it an "Edam style cheese made from pasteurised milk."

The difference may be in the ingredients. In the U.S., Mini Babybel is made from pasteurized cultured milk, salt, and microbial enzymes. The U.K. recipe calls for pasteurized milk, vegetarian rennet, lactic ferments, and salt. In France, Mini Babybel is simply described as 98% French milk.

No matter what kind of cheese Mini Babybel is, its small size and favorable nutritional profile make it a great snack for kids and adults alike. As long as everyone enjoys it, we can still just call it Mini Babybel.