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Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk
cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...
named after
Brie Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern ''département'' of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mo ...
, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern ''
département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...
'' of
Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mould. The rind is typically eaten, with its flavor depending largely upon the ingredients used and its manufacturing environment. It is similar to
Camembert Camembert (, also , ) is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Camembert, Normandy, in northwest France. It is sometimes compared in look and taste to brie cheese, albeit wi ...
, which is native to a different region of France. Brie typically contains between 60% and 75%
butterfat Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain. Composition Butterfat is mainly composed of triglycerides. Each triglyceride contains three fatty acids. But ...
, slightly higher than Camembert. "Brie" is a style of cheese, and is not in itself a protected name, although some regional bries are protected.


Production

Brie may be produced from whole or semi-skimmed milk. The
curd Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet or any edible acidic substance such as l ...
is obtained by adding
rennet Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, such as pepsin an ...
to raw milk and warming it to a maximum temperature of 37 °C (98.6 °F). The cheese is then cast into moulds, sometimes with a traditional perforated ladle called a . The mold is filled with several thin layers of cheese and drained for approximately 18 hours. The cheese is then taken out of the moulds, salted, inoculated with cheese culture ('' Penicillium candidum'', '' Penicillium camemberti,'' or ''
Brevibacterium linens ''Brevibacterium linens'' is a gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium. It is the type species of the family '' Brevibacteriaceae''. ''Brevibacterium linens'' is ubiquitously present on the human skin, where it causes foot odor. The familiar odor ...
''), and aged in a controlled environment for at least four or five weeks. If left to mature for longer, typically several months to a year, the cheese becomes stronger in flavour and taste, the pâte drier and darker, and the rind also darker and crumbly, and it is called (French for 'black brie'). Overripe brie contains an unpleasantly excessive amount of
ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous ...
, produced by the same
microorganism A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in old ...
s required for ripening.


Nutrition

A thirty-gram serving of brie contains and 8.4 grams of fat, of which 5.26 grams are
saturated fat A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branche ...
. Brie is a good source of protein; a serving of brie can provide 5 to 6 grams of protein. Brie contains a good amount of both
vitamin B12 Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. It is one of eight B vitamins. It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. ...
and vitamin B2.


Varieties

There are now many varieties of brie made all over the world, including plain brie, herbed varieties, double and triple brie and versions of brie made with other types of
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...
. Indeed, although brie is a French cheese, it is possible to obtain
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...
and
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
brie. The French government officially certifies only two types of brie, ''
Brie de Meaux Brie de Meaux is a French brie cheese of the Brie region and a designated AOC product since 1980. Its name comes from the town of Meaux in the Brie region. As of 2003, 6,774 tonnes (-13.4% since 1998) were produced annually. Description Brie de ...
'' and ''
Brie de Melun Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern ''département'' of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mo ...
''. Some varieties of brie cheese are
smoked Smoking is the process of flavoring, browning, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Meat, fish, and '' lapsang souchong'' tea are often smoked. In Europe, alder is the tra ...
.


Brie de Meaux

Brie de Meaux is an unpasteurized round cheese with a diameter of , and a weight of about . Manufactured in the town of
Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...
in the Brie region of northern France since the 8th century, it was originally known as the "Queen's Cheese", or, after the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, the "Queen of Cheeses," and was eaten by all social classes. It was granted the protection of ''
Appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...
'' (AOC) status in 1980. It is produced primarily in the eastern part of the Parisian basin.


Brie de Melun

Brie de Melun has an average weight of and a diameter of , smaller than Brie de Meaux. It has a stronger flavour and more pungent smell. It is made with unpasteurised milk. Brie de Melun is also available in the form of "Old Brie" or black brie. It was granted the protection of AOC status in 1980.


French non-AOC bries

The following French bries do not have AOC certification: Brie de Montereau, Île-de-France, Brie de Nangis, Brie de Provins, Brie noir, Brie fermier, Brie d'Isigny, Brie de Melun bleu, Brie petit moulé, Brie laitier Coulommiers.


International bries

Australia: King Island Dairy, on King Island between Victoria and Tasmania, produces a range of cheeses sold as "brie", as does Jindi Cheese in Victoria and High Valley Mudgee Cheese Co in Mudgee, NSW. UK:
Cornish Brie Cornish Brie is a type of brie-style, soft, white-rinded British cheese from Cornwall, England. Cornish brie is made by several dairies and has won a number of awards. Makers have included the Cornish Cheese Company, Cornish Country Larder an ...
; Somerset Brie; Baron Bigod (made in Suffolk); Cenarth Brie (made in Wales); Morangie Brie (made in the Highlands, Scotland); Connage Clava Brie (made in Scotland). US: The Marin French Cheese Company in California has made an unaged cheese since 1865 described as "fresh brie". Kolb-Lena, a Savencia Fromage & Dairy plant in Illinois has made Brie- and Camembert-style cheese since early 1900. Today still producing Brie under the brands: Alouette, Delice de France or award-winning soft cheese under Dorothy's. Brazil: Brazilian "brie" is made in the dairy region located in the Southern area of Minas Gerais state (bordering São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states) and Southeast Minas Gerais (bordering Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo states). Ireland: Ireland produces various "brie" cheeses such as Wicklow Bán Brie, St. Killian Brie, and The Little Milk Company's Organic Irish Brie. New Zealand has many brie-style cheeses. They vary from the huge Mainland brand with Creamy, Double Cream, and Blue varieties to craft cheesemakers such as Grinning Gecko.


Serving

Brie is produced as a wheel; a segment, or a whole wheel, may be bought. The white rind is edible. The cheese is ready to eat when the outside is firm, and the inside is slightly bouncy and resilient. Underripe Brie is stiff to the touch; overripe Brie is creamier and almost runny. The cheese is sometimes served baked.


Storage

Brie, like Camembert, is a
soft cheese There are many different types of cheese. Cheeses can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as length of fermentation, texture, methods of production, fat content, animal milk, and country or region of origin. The method most comm ...
. Its softness allows the rapid widespread growth of bacteria and moulds if the cheese is not stored correctly. It is recommended that soft cheeses such as brie be kept refrigerated. The optimal storage temperature for brie is or even lower. The cheese should be kept in a tightly sealed container, tightly wrapped wax paper or plastic wrap to avoid contact with moisture and food-spoilage bacteria which will reduce the shelf life and freshness of the product. Cheese producers specify a " best before date", and say that the quality of the cheese will degrade beyond then. Cheese with blue or green mould may not be safe to eat; the mould may also have spread invisibly to apparently unaffected parts.


Comparison with Camembert

Camembert Camembert (, also , ) is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Camembert, Normandy, in northwest France. It is sometimes compared in look and taste to brie cheese, albeit wi ...
is a similar soft cheese that is also made from cow's milk. Camembert is a much more recently developed cheese and is based on brie. However, there are differences such as its origin, typical market shape, size, and flavour. Brie originates from the
Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...
while Camembert comes from
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. Traditionally, brie was produced in large wheels, 23 to 37 cm (9 to 14.5 in) in diameter, and thus ripened more slowly than the smaller Camembert cheeses. When sold, brie segments typically have been cut from the larger wheels (although some brie is sold as small, flat cylinders), and therefore its sides are not covered by the rind. By contrast, Camembert is ripened as a small round cheese 10 cm (4 in) in diameter by about 3 cm (1.25 in) thick and fully covered by rind. This ratio change between rind and paste makes Camembert slightly stronger when compared to a brie ripened for the same amount of time. Once the rind is cut on Camembert, the cheese typically has a more pungent aroma than does brie. In terms of taste, Camembert has a stronger, slightly sour, and sometimes chalky taste. The texture of Camembert is softer than that of brie, and if warmed, Camembert will become creamier, whereas brie warms without losing as much structure.


See also

*
Neufchâtel cheese Neufchâtel (, ; Norman: ''Neu(f)câtel'') is a soft, slightly crumbly, mold-ripened, bloomy-rind cheese made in the Neufchâtel-en-Bray region of Normandy. One of the oldest kinds of cheese in France, its production is believed to date ba ...
*
List of cheeses This is a list of cheeses by place of origin. Cheese is a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms. Hundreds of types of cheese from various countries are produced. Their styles, textures and flavors dep ...


References

{{Authority control French cheeses French products with protected designation of origin Cow's-milk cheeses Smoked cheeses