.Brie of Meaux

The origins of the Brie of Meaux is still unknown. It is under charlemagne, which appreciated it extremely, that one starts to follow his prestigious épopée.

It is closely related to our History of France. Blanche de Navarre, Champagne Comtesse, sent cheeses of Brie to king Phillippe Auguste. Charles of Orleans by making present at the ladies court for their New Year's gifts. Under the feather of Rabelais, Gargantua offered some to his parents " to make them plaisir".

With the banquet which followed the battle of Rocroi, into 1643, Condé made bring cheeses of Brie to celebrate his victoire.

Marie Leczinska invented the Chickens vol-au-vent stuffed with the Brie with Meaux.

Louis XVI requested a share of it from the Sausse grocer after being recognized and stopped in Varennes.

The French Révolution made cheese of the people of it. A revolutionist gastronomist of the time proclaimed: " the cheese of Brie, liked by the rich person and the poor one, preached the equality before it is not suspected
possible".

Mais it is in 1815 that this cheese of the Kings accepted his concretization. It was with the congress of Vienna where Talleyrand, Metternich and the ambassadors of 30 nations divided again Europe after the wars of Napoleon. A contest was organized to indicate best cheese and, with the unanimities, the Brie was crowned " king of Fromages".

The August 18, 1980, the Brie of Meaux received the Controlled Label of origin which, by decree, defines the geographical area of production and the traditional standards of frabrication, refining and presentation of this cheese more than millénaire.

The December 31, 1986, a new decree of A.O.C., abrogeant that of 1980, brings new precise details on manufacture and the affinage.Le Brie of Meaux is a soft cheese, with the believed milk of cow. It contains fat content 45%. It is refined during 4 weeks minimum. This stage, its weight lies between 2,500 kg and 3 kg, for a varying diameter from 63 to 37 cm.

Its manufacture.

The decree of Label of origin, taking again the essential elements of the ancestral manufacture of the Brie of Meaux, fixed in a precise way the rules guarantee the conservation of the original character of this cheese. Thus, so as to approach manufacture as much as possible to formerly, the Brie of Meaux must be manufactured under the following conditions: - milk can at no time to be heated at a temperature likely to destroy, even partially, the natural microbial flora present in milk at the departure of the farm; - curdling must be obtained by présure, the moulding must be carried out manually using a " shovel with Brie ", salting must be made with dry salt. These requirements thus forbid to resort to the techniques which would standardize this admirable cheese. It is thus about an extremely delicate manufacture where each day the know-how of the cheesemonger is requested at the highest point.

Its refining

Is not Brie of Meaux which wants...

The Label of origin Brie of Meaux could have been given only to one cheese manufactured for 4 weeks. This period of " transformation " is ensured by the refiner, essential hyphen between manufacture and consumption.

With the origin, this function was created downstream from manufacture around the Parisian market to bring the product to optimum conditions for consumption.

The refiner receives cheeses approximately a week after their manufacture. They are initially stored in the hâloirs conditioned to eliminate excess from moisture harmful to the quality of the product.

Then, they are replaced in rooms of refining, carefully controlled in temperature and hygroscopy. There, they are refined slowly and regularly during 6 to 8 weeks. They are manually supervised and turned over several times in the course of refining.

Lastly, ready with consumption, the Bries of Meaux are delivered by the refiner to the points of sale in vehicles especially equipped, or dispatched in specific packing.

The frequencies of delivery or forwarding are about 2 to 3 times per week, as well as possible to ensure the point of sale a product of its refining and the consumer a product with optimal gustatory qualities.

In Meaux, the " King of Cheeses " is in the center many cultural events:

- the Brotherhood of the companions of the Brie of Meaux.

- the annual Contest of the Brie of Meaux.

- the room of permanent exposure of the Brie of Meaux (with tasting).

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