Real Stories: Brie
The quintessential bloomy rind soft cheese and sister to Camembert, Brie originated from its namesake region in France.
One of the most popular categories of specialty cheese, bloomy rind cheeses are covered with a white, downy rind. This is usually a mix of Penicillium candidum, a fluffy white-coloured mold and Geotrichum candidum, a squiggly cream-coloured fungus. As a bloomy rind cheese ages, the cheese’s lactic acid continues to break down curd into a more complex, flavourful and aromatic spreadable and gooey cheese.
Brie is pale in colour with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mould. The edible rind packs a lot of flavour, depending on ingredients used and the production methods. Compared to Camembert, it has a slightly higher butterfat content around 60%-75%.
The Origins
Cheeses resembling what we know today as Brie have been around since the 8th century. Historians state that Charlemagne enjoyed a brie-style cheese at his coronation banquet in 768 CE. The historic region of Brie roughly corresponds to the modern department of Seine-et-Marnein the Île-de-France region.
The AOP
Though the name Brie is not a controlled or protected entity, two key regional Bries have been granted the European protection standards AOC (appellation d’origine contrôlée) and AOP (appellation d’origine protégée): Brie de Meaux AOP and Brie de Melun AOP. These raw milk plush Bries must be made in a specific geographical area which is the Brie region, located about 60km east and southeast of Paris.
Brie de Meaux AOP
With AOC status granted in 1980, followed by AOP protection received in 1996, the Brie de Meaux is the best known of the two protected version. It is also larger, with each wheel weighing around 2.8kgs and aged for around 6-8 weeks. Manufactured in the town of Meaux in the Brie region of Northern France since the 8th century, it is known as the “Queen of Cheeses”. It is strictly a raw milk cheese which forms a luscious interior with flavours and aromas of mushrooms, melted butter, yeast, and brassica.
Brie de Melun AOP
The other protected Brie from France is the Brie de Melun, weighing around 1.5kgs, smaller than Brie de Meaux. It is an ultra-rich, naturally fermented cheese with a custard-like texture and savoury flavours of sautéed mushrooms. It is produced in the Île-de-France region and made using lactic fermentation. Aged around 4-8 weeks, it has a stronger flavour and more pungent smell. Strictly made from raw milk, it also gained AOC status in 1980 and AOP protection in 1996.
Brie de Melun (Image Credit: Thesupermat)
Other traditional French Bries
Outside the AOP standards, there are a few well-known traditional french bries like Brie de Nangis, Brie de Provins, Brie de Coulommiers, le Fougerus, and Brie de Montereau. The longer aged versions of these cheeses, known as Brie Noir, also exist which have more pungent flavours and a darker colour.
Stabilised Bries? Double Cream? Triple Cream?
Most bries that are available in supermarkets are stablised bries, meaning they use stabilisers to quicken the fermentation process, resulting it a firmer texture that is commercially viable with longer shelf life.
Cheeses in the brie family are not double or triple cream by definition. Although many industrial versions are called double or triple cream “brie”, which simply means the addition of cream in the production process to for a creamier texture. Bloomy rind cheeses in France that actually are double and triple cream cheeses, such as Chaource and Brillat-Savarin, are not classified as Brie.
Raw Milk cheeses and Australia
Australia does not allow imports of raw milk cheeses. An article by Will Studd paints the current picture of this and unfortunately for us, the only way to experience the likes of Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun is by travelling overseas. Pasteurised bries therefore, are the only options available across the country, but they will not truly 100% replicate the flavour of authentic raw milk brie. However, lactic bries offer a close alternative, which have a similar flavour profile to raw milk bries, yet do not possess the texture, nor the lack of depth of flavour in stabilised bries.
Secco is proud of offer one of these special lactic bries exclusively in South Australia.
Our offering
The L’Original Brie from Paysan Breton takes Brie production back to its traditional roots. It’s most important differentiating factor from Australian bries is that it’s a lactic brie made without any stabilisers. It also uses less rennet which results in a longer time to mature. It's stored in a beautiful wooden box that encourages the cheese to mature into a soft, fudge texture. Traditional raw milk Bries cannot be imported into Australia, so this is the closest thing to one that you can get made with pasteurised milk instead.
It has an earthy, mushroomy flavour with brassica notes and a rich and creamy texture very typical of a French brie. Read more.