Brie

Brie: Nutrition, History and Cooking Guide

Brie is a soft, white-rinded cow's milk cheese from the Brie region of northeastern France, east of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne department. It is one of the most immediately recognisable and widely loved cheeses in the world, with a distinctive edible white rind of Penicillium camemberti and a soft, creamy, yielding interior that ranges from chalk-white when young to flowing gold when fully ripe. Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun hold PDO status as the authentic forms made by traditional farmhouse methods; the vast majority of "brie" sold globally is an industrial product made by a different process with a more stable, less complex flavour profile. In French history, Brie was a prestigious cheese served at royal banquets from the medieval period — it is recorded at the coronation feast of Philip II in 1180 — and was famously celebrated at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, where Talleyrand reportedly submitted Brie as France's contribution to a cheese competition, and it was acclaimed the "king of cheeses." A perfectly ripe Brie — soft to the point of near-flowing under its rind, fragrant with earthy-mushroom aromas — is one of the finest eating experiences in all of cheese.

Nutritional Value of Brie

Brie provides 334 kcal and 20.8 g of protein per 100 g, with 27.7 g of fat — rich but lower in calories than most hard cheeses. Calcium at approximately 184 mg per 100 g is moderate. It provides vitamin A, B12, phosphorus, and riboflavin. The white rind provides additional compounds from the Penicillium mould activity.

How to Select and Serve Brie

A ripe Brie should yield to gentle pressure and smell of mushrooms and ammonia — not strongly of ammonia, which indicates over-ripeness. It should be at room temperature when served — cold Brie is firm and flavourless. Remove from the refrigerator forty-five to sixty minutes before serving. For baked Brie: score the top of the rind in a crosshatch, top with honey and walnuts or cranberry jam, and bake at 180°C for fifteen minutes until molten. Serve with apple slices, crusty bread, and charcuterie on a cheese board. Young Brie that has not yet ripened can be ripened at home by keeping at cool room temperature for several days.