Brie De Meaux: The Cheese Of Kings
If you want to dine like kings and emperors, the Brie De Meaux is the cheese that you should get. It has been served in the tables of diplomats in the Middle Ages, what with its light taste in the mouth with a hint of mushroomy and grassy notes.
In the 19th century, the Brie De Meaux was considered as the cheese of the kings, as it was often preferred by Diplomats because it tastes rich and luxurious in the mouth, but not cloyingly buttery. Brie De Meaux was said to have helped make world peace – in one of the many heated Vienna proceedings, the Frenchman Talleyrand proposed a friendly competition (to lighten the tension between parties) to find out which country had the world’s best cheese.
An English Lord argued that the English Stilton was the best, while a Swiss gentleman peddled for Switzerland’s Emmenthal. Talleyrand fell silent until a man arrived with his contender, the Brie De Meaux. According to one historian, the Brie De Meaux rendered its cream to the knife that night and turned the evening into a feast, and no man dared argue the point ever since.
However, even before that incident in the Congress of Vienna
the Brie De Meaux has already carved its name in the books of history. Documents have it that the emperor Charlemagne has tasted the Brie De Meaux in the year 774. Furthermore, Louis XVI asked to have a last taste of the Brie De Meaux before his execution during the aftermath of the French Revolution.
The Brie De Meaux was originally from the region of Brie, thus the name. It was formerly an exclusive Parisian cheese, but has now become more available because of the spread of railways. But the AOC has made sure that the Brie De Meaux is produced only in certain provinces surrounding Paris in order to ensure consistency and quality.
Raw and unpasteurized cow’s milk is used to make the Brie De Meaux. The Brie De Meaux is soft and creamy because 23 liters of milk are used to make a single wheel. Although the cheese is heated during the renneting stage, it is never actually cooked. And faithful to twelve centuries of tradition, the Brie De Meaux is molded by hand on a “pelle a brie”, or a perforated ladle.
The Brie De Meaux tastes soft and creamy to the tongue, without being too buttery. The best way to serve the Brie De Meaux is to let it come into room temperature to enjoy a full range of flavors. If you have a red Bordeaux or Champagne sitting at home, bring it to life with a neat slice of Brie De Meaux. Try this delectable cheese of kings today!