Royal Vienna

Brie De Meaux: French Cheese With A Place In History

The Brie De Meaux is the closest you can get to the real thing when you talk about the type cheese that was served in the tables of emperors and kings during the Middle Ages. This French cheese is light in the mouth, with a mushroomy and grassy taste.

The Brie De Meaux is known to be the cheese of kings, since most diplomats and politicians preferred its rich and luxurious taste in the mouth. In fact in 1814, the Brie De Meaux played an important role in creating world peace – during a heated Vienna meeting, the Frenchman Talleyrand proposed a friendly competition among parties to know which country produced the best cheese in the world.

An English Lord lobbied for the English Stilton, while a Swiss gentleman convinced the rest that Switzerland’s Emmenthal was the best. 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.

But before that incident in the Congress of Vienna, the Brie De Meaux has already marked its place in history. The emperor Charlemagne is chronicled to have tasted the Brie De Meaux in the year 774. On top of that, facing the guillotine in the upshots of the French Revolution, Louis XVI has expressed as final wish a last taste of the Brie De Meaux before his execution.

The Brie De Meaux was originally from the region of Brie, some 50 kilometers east of Paris. It was formerly an exclusive Parisian cheese, but has now become more available because of the spread of railways. However, the AOC made sure that the Brie De Meaux is produced in certain provinces near Paris only so that consistency and quality is ensured.

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. It is heated during the renneting stage, but is never actually cooked. Abiding twelve centuries of tradition, the Brie de Meaux is molded by hand using 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 it is to let it breathe in room temperature, to enjoy its rich flavor of hazelnut and fruit. If you were looking for the right pair to your red Bordeaux or Champagne, you will find a perfect match in the Brie De Meaux. So go and get one today!

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