Brie is a soft cow's-milk cheese with a white bloomy rind, from the country east of Paris. The paste ripens from the rind toward the center.
A ripe wheel slumps at room temperature, and the rind is meant to be eaten. Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun are the protected names. A wheel labeled only Brie may be made far outside that zone.
History
Brie is the cheese of the Brie plateau in Île-de-France, the open country east of Paris. Soft cow's-milk cheeses were made there for centuries and sold into the city. The name of the region became the name of the cheese. A famous story links Brie to Charlemagne. Treat that as a story, not as a record of a recipe.
Two names inside the old region are protected today. Brie de Meaux is the larger, milder wheel most people picture. Brie de Melun is smaller, often saltier, and often ripened longer. Outside those rules, the word Brie became a style. Factories in France and in other countries make white-rinded wheels and use the name. Those wheels can be pleasant. They are not Brie de Meaux.
How it is made
Milk is set gently and the curd is ladled, not cut hard and pressed. The loaf stays moist. A white mold, related to the mold on Camembert, is encouraged on the surface. That mold ripens the cheese from the outside in. Salt, time, and a cool damp room do the rest. There is no cooking of the curd and no long press.
Format and milk treatment change the result. A protected Meaux or Melun follows rules on place, method, and milk. A supermarket Brie may be made from pasteurized milk, in a large dairy, and stabilized so the center stays firmer in the shop. Stabilized cheese travels well and cuts cleanly. It will not ripen into a spoonable cream. If you want the old texture, buy a wheel that is allowed to soften, and plan to eat it soon.
Taste
A young Brie tastes of milk, mushrooms, and salt, with a chalky line in the center if it is not ripe. A ripe Brie is richer: butter, cream, cooked mushroom, and sometimes cabbage or hazelnut. The rind tastes more strongly than the paste. Melun tends toward salt and savor. A mild factory Brie stays closer to mushrooms and butter.
Ammonia is the warning smell. A little mushroom is good. A hit of ammonia means the wheel is overripe. A dry, brown, or cracked rind, and a paste that will not soften after an hour out of the cold, means the cheese was deadened before you bought it. Let a living wheel sit covered, at room temperature, before you judge it.
In the kitchen
The main use is the board or the table. Serve it with bread, not with a crowd of sweet jams that hide it. Potatoes, a green salad, or a sharp apple are enough. Baked Brie is a modern party dish. It works best with a sturdy wheel. A very ripe protected cheese will run and can taste too strong once it is hot.
Do not grate Brie, and do not keep a cut wheel for weeks. After it is cut, wrap it and eat it within a few days. The rind is edible. Leave it on. Camembert is the usual substitute when you need a small bloomy round. A fresh goat cheese is not a substitute. It is tangy, and it has no bloomy cream.
Around the world
France still makes the protected cheeses in Île-de-France, and it also makes a large amount of ordinary Brie for daily eating. The style is now made in Germany, the United States, and elsewhere. Many people meet Brie first as a supermarket wheel or as a baked appetizer, not as a cheese from Meaux.
Use the label to see which Brie you have. Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun name the protected cheeses of the old region. The single word Brie names a family. Both can be the right purchase. A weeknight wheel and a cheese for a serious board are allowed to be different. Camembert de Normandie is the other great bloomy cow's-milk cheese of France, smaller and often stronger, from a different place.