Among the specialty cheese receiving high consumer interest are the mold surface-ripened cheese, Brie and Camembert. Both Brie and Camembert cheese are currently manufactured with Penicillium caseicolum.
Brie is a soft surface ripened, primarily white mould ripened cheese in conformity with the General Standard for Cheese, which has a shape of a flat cylinder or sectors thereof.
The body has a near white through to light yellow colour and a soft-textured (when thumbs-pressed), but not crumbly texture, ripened from the surface to the center of the cheese. Gas holes are generally absent, but few openings and splits are acceptable.
Because fungal growth and activity occurs primarily near the surface, brie had distinct inner cores and external rinds. For Brie ready for consumption, the ripening procedure to develop flavour and body characteristics is normally from 10 days at 10–16 °C depending on the extent of maturity required.
Brie also had a slightly nutty and a cooked milk note that was found in only two other cheeses. Brie was more bitter and more pungent than most cheeses. It exhibited very slight animalic and goaty attributes, as well, and was in the group of cheeses with low scores for attributes such as sour, salty, and sharp.
The specific terms “Brie de Meaux”, and "Brie de Melun" are controlled French designation of origination ("Appellation d'origine contrôlée") that indicate both the place of production and the specific process used.
Brie cheese
