Flavors of Paris and the Ile-de-France

Suggestion of the wine waiter
Choose a lively, full-bodied red Burgundy or Côtes du Rhône with good bouquet. More generally, any light red or country wine makes a good accompaniment to brie.

AOC (Protected designation of origin)

Melun brie has very ancient origins and is often considered to be the ancestor of all varieties of brie cheese. Old manuscripts even suggest that it existed before the Roman invasion. Formerly the cheese was made on farms, but these days small dairies have taken over production while preserving the old farm traditions of production and ripening.

History and brie
Charlemagne was a great admirer of brie cheeses.

Duke Charles of Orleans, father of Louis XII, ordered twenty dozen cheeses from the land of Brie as Christmas gifts for his ladies.

The writer La Fontaine (1621-1695) included Brie de Melun in his fable “The Fox and the Crow”: the crow holds a brie in his beak. At the Vienna Congress (1815), brie was declared the “king of cheeses” during a diplomatic banquet.

Brie de Melun is one of the French cheeses permitted to use the AOC label, or protected designation of origin.

Product
Cow’s milk cheese

Nutritional value
Fat accounts for 45% of its dry (solid) components, which in turn make up at least 40% of the cheese. 

Production
Producing Brie de Melun involves long and careful technique. The cheesemaker working with raw milk has to adapt his preparation data every day, depending on the season, weather, temperature, animals’ diet… Brie de Melun is slow-drained cheese made by pressure-formed curd which undergoes a coagulation process of at least 18 hours. Molding is done manually with a ladle in molds 12 cm (5”) high and 27 cm (11”) in diameter. They are turned several times  a day to promote drainage. The resulting curd is very fragile and must be handled with extreme care. It is salted on both sides on subsequent days. The ripening process lasts at least 4 weeks in a cellar at a temperature of about 10° C (50° F), but perfect ripening requires at least 7 to 8 weeks.

Curd
The curd is supple, elastic and not runny.

Rind
The thin rind is covered with a white bloom marked with red or brown streaks or patches, the result of proper aging.

Appearance
Shape: flat cylinder 27 cm (11”) in diameter, 3 cm (1 1/4”) thick, 1.5 to 1.8 kg (3 1/3 to 4 lb.) in weight.

Flavor
Very fruity with a strong scent of its terroir.

Buying
The INAO label is a guarantee of origin and quality. The bloomy white rind should be marked with red or brown streaks or patches. The curd should be an even golden yellow.
It should feel supple and elastic, but not soft.
It should have a strong scent of its terroir.
The flavor should be fruity with good bouquet. Refuse any with a grayish, uneven or overly red rind, or any cheese in which the curd detaches from the rind. Smell and refuse any with a scent of ammonia.

Storing
Keep in a cool, aerated dark place with no drafts. Cover with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out. Place in the vegetable crisper of the refrigerator, wrapped in parchment paper.

Serving
Its fruity flavor makes it a must on any balanced cheese platter. It is presented on its own on a straw mat. Best paired with country bread.

Cooking
Brie de Melun is usually enjoyed at the end of a meal. It is also used in regional specialties such as “croûte au brie”:

Combine 125 g (4 oz.) Brie with 100 g (3 oz.) butter, salt and pepper. Place the mixture between two slices of white bread, buttered on the outside. Place in an ovenproof dish and brown for about 5 minutes. Serve with a well-dressed green salad.