Brie

Brie takes its name from the Brie region of the Île-de-France, east of Paris — a flat agricultural plain that has supplied the capital with grain and dairy since the early Middle Ages. The name Brie itself derives from a Gaulish term for a marshy or boggy area. The region's rich grasses fed cattle whose milk became the foundation of a cheese tradition documented at least from the 8th century, when Charlemagne reportedly tasted it and asked for two cartloads to be sent to him annually.

The cheese is defined by its bloomy white rind — produced by a mould called Penicillium camemberti, which grows on the outside of the wheel and ripens the interior from the outside in. A young brie is chalky at the centre; a ripe brie softens to a liquid-adjacent cream. The rind is edible and intended to be eaten. French fromagers consider leaving the rind a form of culinary ignorance, or at minimum, a missed opportunity.

The Congress of Vienna in 1814–1815, where European powers redrew the map after Napoleon, included a celebrated cheese competition proposed by the French diplomat Talleyrand. Representatives from thirty nations submitted their finest cheeses. The French entry — brie — was declared the winner. Whether this story is entirely historical or partially apocryphal, it has been repeated so often that brie now carries the title 'king of cheeses' as a marketing fact.

Two distinct cheeses carry the protected name today: Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun, each with Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée status. Outside France, the name is unprotected, and brie is produced worldwide in shapes, sizes, and fat contents far removed from any Île-de-France original. The Charlemagne who received his cartwheels would recognise the European original and be baffled by the factory disc.