The French began making this cheese in the seventeenth century when foreign products, including cheese, were banned on the territory by order of Minister Colbert. Very fond of the Edam from the Netherlands, the northerners created a copy called Boule de Lille, which will take the name of Mimolette thereafter. The Mimolette name that comes from "soft" refers to the texture of cheese dough when still young. In order to make a difference with Dutch cheese, orange natural vegetable dye, annatto, now replaced by carotene, has been added to the dough to give it its distinctive color. Legend has it that the shape of the product comes from the mold of the cannon balls used at the time, in the campaigns of Napoleon. Like its neighbor, the crust of the French mimolette is dotted with hollow that allow the cheese to breathe.

The cheese dairy Bouvron Mimolette manufactures since 1890. The particularity of this cheese is to be refined more than 18 months on a board. Its very brittle texture releases splashes of salt and its nuts and dried fruit flavors make it a cheese of character.