It’s not that many days since I wrote about The Art of Brie. The picture illustrating that post is of a ripe Brie de Meaux which you can clearly see from the reddish spots on the rind. This week I came across a very fresh cheese with the typical white hard part of paste in the middle. Actually, most French prefer their Brie this style; fresh rather than overripe.
It’s from Fromagerie Renard-Gillard in Biencourt sur Orge which is quite a bit to the east of Paris and the town of Meaux for that sake. Still within the AOP area. Unpasteurized but pretty industrial.
A lot of taste
A ripe Brie de Meaux can be somewhat pungent. And not everybody like that. That’s probably also one of the reasons why so many prefer the pasteurized so called Bries. Very neutral taste except hints of mushrooms, but that’s because of the bloomy rind, of course.
But this one was not pungent at all, a bit hard in the middle which actually softened quite nicely after an hour or so on the kitchen bench leaving hints of the so characteristic Brie de Meaux taste.
Brie de Meaux and banana
Try it with a ripe banana. Never had that before? Then you should. They sort of complement each other. If the cheese is mild it’s mild and mild together which do no real harm. If the cheese is more on the pungent side the banana will round off the pungent taste and make it more acceptable.
To drink
Red wine from the east side of Bordeaux, i.e. a Merlot based wine, light and fruity wines such as Beaujolais or a village Syrah. If you want to drink a white wine, try a half dry Sauvignon blanc or preferably Riesling. Champagne, Brut or even Sec, always works with Brie de Meaux, after all it’s the neighbor.