Brie
154874
225313830
2008-07-13T01:19:24Z
Insanity Incarnate
3763104
Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/207.244.171.145|207.244.171.145]] to last version by Toon05 (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]])
{{redirect|Brie|the French province|Brie (region)}}
{{Cheese|Brie
| [[Image:Brie de Meaux close.jpg|280px]]
| [[France]]
| [[Seine-et-Marne]]
| [[Cow]]s
| By law in the [[United States|US]] and [[Australia]],
not in most of [[Europe]]
| Soft-ripened
| generally one week or more
| [[Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée|AOC]], 1980,<BR> for both Brie de Meaux
and Brie de Melun}}
'''Brie''' is a soft cows' [[cheese]] named after [[Brie (region)|Brie]], the [[France|French]] province in which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern ''[[département in France|département]]'' of [[Seine-et-Marne]]). It is pale in color with a slight greyish tinge under crusty white [[mold]]; very soft and savory with a hint of [[ammonia]]. The white moldy [[rind]] is edible, and is not intended to be separated from the cheese during consumption.
The region in France that gave its name to this cheese (''Brie'') is, in the [[French language]], feminine: ''La Brie'', but French products take the gender of their general category; in this case cheese (''Le fromage'') is masculine, and so Brie is also masculine, ''Le Brie''.
According to legend, during the 8th century, [[Charlemagne]] had his first taste of Brie cheese, and immediately fell in love with it.
==Production==
Brie may be produced from whole or semi-skimmed milk. The curd is obtained by adding [[rennet]] to raw milk and heating it to a maximum temperature of 37 °C. The cheese is then cast into molds, sometimes with a traditional perforated ladle called a "pelle à brie". The 20 cm mold is filled with several thin layers of cheese and drained for approximately 18 hours. The cheese is then taken out of the molds, salted, inoculated with cheese [[mold]] (''[[Penicillium candida|Penicillium candidum]]'', ''[[Penicillium camemberti]]'' and/or ''[[Brevibacterium linens]]'') and aged in a cellar for at least four weeks.
If left to mature for longer, typically several months to a year, the cheese becomes stronger in flavour, the [[pâte]] drier and darker, and the [[rind]] also darker and crumbly, and is called '''Brie Noir''' ''(Fr: Black Brie)''. Around the [[Île-de-France (region)|Île-de-France]], where Brie is made, the people enjoy soaking this in [[Café au lait]] and eating it for breakfast.<ref name="DK-FrenchCheese">{{cite book |last= Masui |first= T. |coauthors= Tomoko, Y., Hodgson, R., Robuchon, J. |title= French Cheeses |publisher= [[Dorling Kindersley|DK]] |year= 2004 |isbn= 1-4053-0666-1 }}</ref> Over-ripe brie contains an unpleasant, excessive amount of ammonia, which is produced by the same microorganisms required for ripening.<ref>McGee, Harold, "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen." Simon & Schuster, 2004.</ref>
==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]]. Brie is perhaps the most well-known French cheese, and is popular throughout the world. Despite the variety of Bries, the French Atlantic government officially certifies only two types of Brie to be sold under that name: '''Brie de Meaux''' (shown to the right) and '''Brie de Melun'''.
The Brie de [[Meaux]], manufactured outside of [[Paris]] since the [[8th century]], was originally known as the "King's Cheese" (later, following the [[French Revolution]], the "King of Cheeses") and was enjoyed by the peasantry and nobility alike. It was granted the protection of [[Appellation d'origine contrôlée|AOC]] (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) status in [[1980]], and is produced primarily in the eastern part of the Parisian basin.
==See also==
* [[Camembert (cheese)|Camembert]], a similar cheese
==References==
<references/>
{{Unreferenced|date=March 2007}}
[[Category:French cheeses]]
[[Category:French products with protected designation of origin]]
[[Category:Cow's-milk cheeses]]
[[ca:Brie (formatge)]]
[[cs:Brie]]
[[da:Brie]]
[[de:Brie (Käse)]]
[[el:Μπρι (τυρί)]]
[[es:Brie (queso)]]
[[fr:Brie (fromage)]]
[[gl:Brie (queixo)]]
[[it:Brie (formaggio)]]
[[he:ברי]]
[[hu:Brie]]
[[nl:Brie (kaas)]]
[[ja:ブリーチーズ]]
[[no:Brie]]
[[pl:Brie (ser)]]
[[pt:Brie]]
[[ru:Бри (сыр)]]
[[scn:Brie (furmaggiu)]]
[[simple:Brie]]
[[sk:Brie]]
[[sl:Brie]]
[[sv:Brie]]
[[uk:Брі]]
[[zh:布利乾酪]]