The 9 Best Brie Cheeses for Crackers, Champagne or Cheeseboards!

With its rich and buttery flavor, it is unsurprising that brie was a favorite of royalty, had poetry written about it and was once crowned the ‘King of Cheeses’! A slice of brie served with fresh fruit makes an ideal afternoon snack or a whole brie round will add style to any cheeseboard.

Things to Consider Before Buying Brie Cheese

Brie can be made in many countries and our domestic and imported brie can be made with whole or skim pasteurized milk. Brie, like camembert is a soft-ripened cheese with an off-white color. Its center can be chalky and white when the cheese is still quite young. This farmhouse cheese is creamy and mellow with an edible rind which is covered with a scant white down which can also be dotted with reddish spots if the brie has been matured for a long time.

A traditional French brie cheese is also known as a fromages au lait cru or raw milk cheese.

Best served at room temperature, brie cheese is often eaten with baguette or crackers and can be served on a cheeseboard and accompanied by fruits such as fresh figs, strawberries, pears, cherries, apricots, blueberries and apples. It also goes well with meats such as beef, ham and sausage as well as nuts and champagne. A brie can also be baked in the oven as is, or as a Brie en croute; wrapped in pastry.

Unlike a number of European regional cheeses, brie is not a protected name, but a Brie de Meaux, considered the finest brie, is made where it originated - Seine-et-Marne, near Paris. Today’s Brie de Meaux is still artisan-produced made in area along the eastern Paris Basin. In 1980, Brie de Meaux was given the Appellation of Origin which specifies the geographical area in which Brie de Meaux can be produced as well as the traditional standards of making, maturing and presenting the brie. Brie de Meaux also received a Protected Designation of Origin (AOP) in 1996 and the Interprofessional Union of Brie de Meaux continues to develop standards and skills in the production of Brie de Meaux.

Other types of French brie cheese include Brie de Melun and Brie de Montereau. There are also more modern brie cheeses such as those coated with peppers, nuts or herbs and blue brie - a cross of bleu cheese and brie. Bleu brie has a lighter flavor than a traditional blue cheese and is becoming popular with those who are not as keen on the full flavor of a traditional blue.

To make brie cheese, enzymes and rennet is added to milk to help it coagulate and curdle, A culture is also added to develop the rind. Once the curd is formed, it can be cut and placed into molds and excess whey drained. The brie is then brined to regulate acidity and prevent excess mold growth. It takes around four to five weeks for it to be fully ripe. The flavor of the brie will depend on what ingredients have been added when it has been made.

A pasteurized brie is inoculated to grow the mold and the pasteurized brie will take between one and three months to ripen. When a brie is ripened, the center of the cheese will be soft and oozing.

The brie rind is sometimes considered a delicacy as it is sweet and soft although it is actually a mold (Penicillium candidum) growth. Because the rind is live, it is able to break down the protein and the fat of the brie changing its consistency to a runnier texture as it ages.

A brie is a type of double cream cheese. This means it has a butterfat content of between 60 and 75%. A triple-crème or triple cream cheese is one which includes the amount of milk that you would use in a double cream cheese plus an extra portion of cream. This increases the butterfat content to 75% or more. A triple cream cheese is not only richer in flavor, but its buttery flavor will also shine through. Both double and triple cream cheeses are bloomy-rind cheeses; as are other cheeses such as camembert and certain goat’s and sheep’s milk cheeses.

The Difference Between French and Domestic Brie

A traditional French brie cheese is made from unpasteurized cow’s milk which is why it cannot be imported into the US. If a brie was allowed to age for the 60 days necessary for an aged cheese to be imported, this would make the brie over-ripe for consumption. Imported French brie available in the US has been stabilized which means it has a longer shelf life and it is not susceptible to infection by bacteria. There are also a small number of artisan manufacturers in the US who are now producing soft cheeses such as brie from unpasteurized milk.

Royalty, Revolution and ‘Le Roj de Fromages’!

First made by the monks of the Priory of Rueil en Brie in the Middle Ages, Brie de Meaux came to the attention of Emperor Charlemagne when he stopped at the Priory in 774. Upon tasting the Brie de Meaux, Charlemagne was that impressed with its rich and creamy flavor, he asked for it to be regularly delivered to his castle in Aachen.

King Phillipe-Auguste was also a fan of brie, so much so that in 1217, he sent 200 rounds of Brie de Meaux to all of his court members as New Year gifts.

The French satirical poet Eustache Deschamps, who was also a diplomatic messenger travelling through Europe on behalf of Charles V, once said that ‘Brie de Meaux is the only good thing to come out of this country.’

It was not just French royalty who enjoyed Brie de Meaux; King Henry IV discovered Brie when served it by Queen Margot at the old castle of Meaux in 1594. It was said that after this Henry IV would always enjoy brie with his wife rather than his favored mistress of the time!

After Duke D’Enghien led French troops to victory against the Spanish army at the Battle of Rocroi in 1643 – one of the later battles of the Thirty Years War (1618 to 1648) - he celebrated the victory by bringing brie to the after-battle banquet.

Louis XVI was said to have been executed because of brie! During the French Revolution he was captured at Varennes where he had lost precious time stopping to eat a Brie de Meaux pancake with red wine while fleeing Paris on his way to Austria. Legend also has it that Louis XVI’s last and dying wish before he was executed in January 1792 was for a final taste of Brie de Meaux.

Brie cheese was also popular during the Revolution, one revolutionary at the time commented that ‘the Brie loved by the rich and the poor, preached equality before anyone dreamed it possible’.

In 1815, when Ambassadors from over 30 nations met at the Congress of Vienna to divide up countries after the Napoleonic Wars, the French diplomat Talleyrand called for a break from the business of the Congress to stage a cheese contest! Over 60 illustrious cheeses such as Strachino from Italy, Stilton from England and Gruyere from Switzerland were brought to the contest. The Brie de Meaux was left until last and afterwards the members praised French gastronomy, voted for the Brie de Meaux and declared it ‘Le Roj de Fromages’ or ‘King of Cheeses’.

The poet Verfele even wrote a poem about Brie de Meaux in 1825, celebrating brie and how it is best eaten with Epernay wine!

Storing Brie Cheese

Brie is best kept in its original packaging in the refrigerator until ready to eat. It can then be left out on the countertop for an hour or so as this will allow it to develop its best flavor and texture as it warms up to room temperature. If you need to ‘ripen’ a brie cheese more before consuming; then it can be left out on the countertop for longer as this will speed up ripening.

Once you have cut into a brie round, you should usually use it within five days or as advised by the producer as its quality begins to decline once cut.

A brie which has a pinkish or ammonia color should not be consumed and if brie develops a mold spot on it, it should be disposed of as unlike hard cheeses where we can just slice it away, mold growth on a soft cheese will affect the whole piece.

Nutrition in A Potion of Brie Cheese

A one ounce portion of brie cheese will provide 7.9 grams of fat and over half of this is saturated. As well as it being high in saturated fat, it is also higher in sodium, containing around 8% of our recommended sodium intake. The piece will also provide 94.9 calories and as a protein source contains 5.9 grams of protein.

Brie cheese is source of vitamin B12, containing just under 9% of our daily requirement of B12 and contains just under 8% of vitamin B2 (riboflavin). It is also a source of calcium, phosphorous and selenium; giving us 5% of our daily requirements.

Conclusion

In this article we have looked at how brie cheese is made and the differences between French produced and domestic brie cheeses. We have also explored the role that brie has played in French history and have offered some ideas for some of the many ways to enjoy brie cheese and how to store it so that it keeps at its best.