The soft cheese are delicious, however their main disadvantage is that they can't be kept for a very long time. To improve the keeping time of their products, the cheese makers of some regions (especially the ones with cold climates during winter) used to press the curd cheese to remove more humidity. The pressing can be soft (for example Mont d'Or or Saint-Nectaire), or stronger (Cantal, Tomme de Savoie, Ossau-Iraty). The maturation takes weeks for the first ones, and months for the seconds. That is how the cheeses develop stronger flavors.
This orange ball is fascinating. It can be matured for 2 years to develop strong and even roasted flavors.
