Eat Brie

Brie cheese comes from the department of Seine-et-Marne region of France formerly known as "Brie." It is pale in color, often found with an edible white rind, and it may have a slight greyish tinge underneath the rind. Aged brie will have a stronger flavor and the rind will become crumbly. Here are some tips on how to serve this delicious, savory cheese.

Steps

Eating Brie (the Proper Way)

  1. If you're at a party, eat it by the slice. It's considered pretty gauche to scrape out the inside, so eat some of the rind, too. Would you pick up a sandwich, take out the meat, and put the bread back down? Didn't think so. If the rind doesn't appeal to you, simply cut it at an angle to maximize the amount of "inside" you get.
    • You've had the rind before and it tasted nasty, you say? Well, you probably just had bad brie (yep, there is such a thing). A good rind should crumble a little and taste a little bitter, but not be too distracting from the gooey, Brie-y goodness. If you haven't tried it, go for it! It's totally edible.
    • By slice, we mean like a very, very small pie slice. Not like a slice of bacon.
  2. Eat it alone, with fruit, nuts, or bread. Brie is so good. If you can resist just shoving the entire wheel in your face, it's practically even better when combined with the power of other delicious things. Try it with:
    • Apples or pears
    • Fig jam or tart cherry compote or honey
    • French bread
    • Almonds or candied walnuts
    • White crackers
      • Of course, you can eat it however you like! We'll cover brie in recipes in the third section -- it doesn't just have to be eaten as a finger food.
  3. Prepare Wine and Cheese Brie goes great with champagne, but also well with certain wines and beers. Wines with more acidity go better with this cheese, while beers with more heartiness about them (like a good stout) will complement the flavor.[1]
    • Soft cheeses like brie tend to pair very well with dry Riesling, Marsanne, or Viognier wines. A lighter red wine (like Pinot Noir) works well too for it's the delicate yet rich flavour that contrasts nicely with the mellowness of brie.
    • Not looking to drink it with alcohol? No problem. Apple cider and similar juices also go well. The lighter and fresher the better.
  4. Know if it's bad. Brie generally only keeps for a couple of weeks.[2] Here's a few things to keep in mind when looking at your wheel:
    • Underripe brie will be hard to the touch. The outside should be firm, but the inside will be slightly springy.
      • Note: Brie stops aging when it's sliced. If you already have a slice, it will not ripen any further.[2]
    • Overripe brie will be soft and runny.
    • Brie can bruise like an apple if mishandled. Brown spots may appear and it could develop an ammonia-like taste.[3]
    • If you already cut into it, it can be refrigerated for a couple of days. Beyond that it should be thrown out. The only way it won't be eaten is if you've forgotten about it!

Serving Brie

  1. Allow the brie to settle at room temperature.[1] This allows the brie to reach its full flavor potential and possibly minimize any residual ammonia-like taste. You could heat it up to make it gooier on the inside if you'd like -- but just a quick blast in the oven or microwave is plenty.
  2. Serve the wedge or cut into the wheel. If you have a wedge, it's simple enough to plop it on a nice tray with some grapes and crackers (and a knife!) and call it a day. But if you have a wheel, you may want to make the first initial cut -- sometimes making the first cut into a beautiful wheel of cheese at a party is intimidating when you're only a guest!
    • Your guests may not know what to do with it either! Feel free to precut just a slice to make the whole process clear.
  3. Have fruits, crackers, nuts, or bread to accompany it. Just like mentioned in the previous section, a number of delicious things go well with brie -- nothing super fancy or at all time consuming is necessary.
    • Don't wanna scroll up? That list was apples, pears, fig jam or tart cherry compote, honey, French bread, almonds or candied walnuts, or white crackers.

Using it as an Ingredient

  1. Bake brie. There are many alternatives when it comes to baking brie. Try Make Cranberry Baked Brie for a sweet, autumn twist. Cheesy goodness? Oh yeah. Good luck waiting for it to be done!
  2. Make brie en croute. That's when you take a small wheel of brie and cover it with puff phyllo pastry, brush it with an egg wash, and bake it until the pastry is golden. There are a billion variations -- often with raspberry or other jam spread on top of the brie or with nuts thrown in. It's effortless and yet still delicious.
  3. Give crab stuffed salmon a try! What could be better than baked salmon stuffed with a mellow and creamy brie filling along with peppers, onion and crisp pine nuts? Brie doesn't have to go with sweet jams or fruits -- it can be savory, too!
  4. Consider making a Make Cheese and Pesto Spread. Great for casual gatherings or a snack for yourself! It can spice up any otherwise casual get-together. Brie ball, anyone? Just remember to load up on pretzels and crackers!
  5. Make a Pesto and Brie Sandwich. Maybe a little bacon, avocado, black forest ham, mustard, marinara sauce, basil, cranberry, mushrooms -- brie practically goes with everything. Slab it on a sandwich and it would surely be delicious. Heck, make your grilled cheese sandwich with it!
  6. Come up with your own recipe. Now that you're familiar with the miracle that is brie, what can you think of to do with it? Throw it on a burger? Class up your french fries? Put it in your salad? At the very least use up your wheel before it goes bad!

Tips

  • Another way to serve it is to wrap Brie in aluminum foil and bake it in the oven till warm and soft in middle. This makes the cheese easier to spread on bread or crackers and makes a nice contrast for cold fruit on the side.
  • The fat content is overestimated by most consumers. The label states the percentage (teneur en matière grasse) based on the dry product. Since Brie contains about 40% water, one should multiply this percentage by 0.6 to obtain a more realistic estimation.
  • Eat the rind together with the soft content. Learn to appreciate the combination.
  • Younger Brie is softer in texture. Older Brie is more crumbly and has a stronger flavor.
  • When you are expected to cut off a piece of brie yourself, try not to alter the general shape and appearance of the remaining part. Thin slices from rim towards center works best. Either way, you should not leave others with the rind.
  • Pre-heating the cheese is not very French. The product is good as it is.
  • Although you can eat the cheese without bread or crackers, you are not supposed to do so when your host offers bread. Just put it on the bread.

Warnings

  • Because of the (albeit very small) risk of listeriosis do not eat cheese made from unpasteurised milk when you are pregnant. These cheeses are said to taste better but are rarely exported. One typically buys it from the farmer who has made the cheese himself.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/eat-drink-and-brie-merry
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.chow.com/food-news/54709/a-cheese-primer/3/
  3. ↑ http://www.chow.com/food-news/54709/a-cheese-primer/3/

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