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Cow's milk cheese it contains at most 29% fat. It is one of the soft, washed-rind cheeses, like Pont-l'évêque and Munster. Like other cheeses, like French wines, each of these cheeses has its own vintage. Maroilles cheese takes its name from the locality in the North where the cheese was created. In the Middle Ages, it was called "the wonder of Maroilles". However, it should be noted that Maroilles is nowadays moulded in several formats. Maroilles cheese is matured for four months in a damp cellar, with salt water washing. During the production of Maroilles, with spontaneous draining, the milk is first renneted before it becomes a white cheese. Moulded, salted with dry salt or brine, the cheese is then removed from the mould before being placed in a ventilated dryer where it is covered with a fine natural flora. The rind is brushed and washed without the use of fungicide (an agent that kills fungi), then the cheese is matured in damp cellars for two to five weeks. During the ripening time, Maroilles develops a beautiful red rind, aided by the development of Brevibacterium linens, more commonly known as "red ferment", and present in the cellars.