A large soft cow's milk cheese of the Ile-de-France, named for the town of Meaux, with a bloomy white rind and a smooth paste that softens to near-liquid when fully ripe. Called the king of cheeses; AOC granted in 1980.
Brie de Meaux is a soft bloomy-rind cow's milk cheese of the Ile-de-France, named for the town of Meaux east of Paris. Legend credits Charlemagne with tasting the cheese in 774 and declaring it among the best he had eaten. The cheese received its AOC in 1980, requiring raw cow's milk.
A wedge shows a thick white bloomy rind and a smooth, pale yellow paste that runs at room temperature. The flavor is rich, mushroomy, and slightly ammoniacal when fully ripe.
The surface Penicillium candidum mold ripens the paste from the outside in through proteolysis; the high moisture and fat give the runny texture when fully ripe.
Variations
Made only from raw cow's milk in the defined AOC zone; the large flat wheel and the bloomy white rind are the constants.
On the Palate
Where Brie de Meaux sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 20How it's made
6 steps · 1 hour
- 130 min
Warm raw cow's milk and add starter and rennet; let the curd set very gently.
- 260 min
Ladle the curd into large flat molds with a special ladle, slowly, over hours.
Watch outLadle the soft curd into the molds slowly over hours, thin layer by layer — dump it and you crush out the moisture that gives Brie its runny paste.
- 330 min
Drain, salt, and inoculate the surface with Penicillium candidum.
- 460 min
Age in a humid cellar for four to six weeks, turning regularly.
- 530 min
Release when the rind is fully white and downy.
- 65 min
Eat at room temperature; the paste should run.
Watch outServe at room temperature so the ripe paste actually runs — cold from the fridge it stays firm and mutes the flavor.
