Produced in the Ile de France region of northern France, Explorateur was invented in the 1958 by M. Duquesne of Fromagerie du Petit Morin, and named in honor of the United States' satellite called Explorer that was in the news at the time. The cheese has a particularly cool label, depicting a Sputnik-type space rocket.

Made from pasteurized cow's milk, Explorateur is a triple creme cheese and thus has a fat content of 75%. Triple creme cheeses are made by adding more cream to already rich milk.

Produced in small 9oz. cyclinders, Explorateur is typical of many French triple cream cheeses in that it is mold ripened and covered with a white, bloomy rind. The interior paste of the cheese is an ivory color with a dense, but quite fluffy texture.

Flavors are mild and subtle but, as you would expect, extremely rich and buttery. There are frequently notes of mushooms and truffles