If it's your first try, Brie might seem challenging.
Brie and its lower-fat cousin, Camembert, are soft, creamy cheeses with a white mold rind.
And, yes, you are supposed to eat the mold rind.
Most everyone on their first try is skeptical. Take Charlemagne, for example. The emperor of what is now much of Western Europe, when served Brie for the first time in about 774, looked disgustedly at the white mold outside and threw it away. But a bishop persuaded him to try the cheese with the rind and, delighted, the emperor immediately ordered two cartloads every year.
That story is part of a Charlemagne biography written by a monk, Notker the Stammerer, in the 9th century, which gives a hint about the age of Brie.
Brie de Meaux was made then 30 miles outside Paris and is still made there by artisans. Over the centuries it became a favorite of kings and poets.
Brie and Camembert now have protected names, according to cheese expert John Proestakes of JohnEatsCheese.com. Only cheese made in the Meaux region can be called Brie. Only cheese made in Normandy can be called Camembert. If you eat cheeses from elsewhere they have to be designated as a style of Brie or Camembert.
With that regal history, it is perhaps not surprising that Brie should have an etiquette associated with it.
– A round of Brie should be cut in slices as you would a cake.
– Always slice the Brie rounds from the outside in.
– Never dig the cheese out of the rind in public. If you really hate the rind, take a whole slice of Brie on your plate and put the rind into a napkin.
– Never mangle the Brie by cutting from the middle of the round.
– Never cut the corners or tip of the Brie. Very offensive.
Traditionally you eat Brie with a bread, ripping a piece of baguette with your hand.
But Brie can be enjoyed many ways, including baked.
Here is a recipe for honey brulee Brie.
Ingredients:
1 8-ounce wheel of triple cream Brie
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of sugar
Crackers, bread, or crudite for serving
Instructions:
Cut off the top rind of the Brie.
Preheat broiler.
Place Brie cut-side up on an oven-worthy plate. Spread honey evenly over the top and add an even layer of sugar.
Place Brie under the broiler for 1 minute or until the sugar melts and caramelizes.
Remove and cool so that the sugar layer hardens, about 1-2 minutes.
Serve with crackers.
