What is Brie?

Brie is a soft, cows’ milk cheese named after Brie, the French province in which it originated. It is pale in colour with a slight greyish tinge under crusty white mould; very soft and savoury with a hint of ammonia. The white mouldy rind is moderately tasteful and edible and is not intended to be separated from the cheese during consumption. Brie is ripened from the outside in, by applying a coating of the white surface bacteria that ripens it. As the ripening moves inward, the cheese is transformed from a solid into a creamy semi-liquid. The cheese is formed into thin wheels because if the wheels were too thick, the outside might liquefy entirely while the inside remained unripened. Because it continues to ripen after the inside reaches the creamy semi-liquid stage, it generally has to be used up within about 40 days. If Brie is too ripe, it will have an ammonia smell to it. Brie is usually purchased either in a full wheel or as a wheel segment. Further sub-division in most homes is subject to social conventions that have arisen to ensure that each person partaking in the cheese receives a roughly equal amount of skin. Slices are taken along the radius of the cheese rather than across the point.

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