A Cheese Question

[Marzoli]

I am wanting to learn more about cheeses. I bought a small package of Brie, but now I am confronted with the fact that I don't know exactly how it should be served-as in room temp, cold, with crackers?
I have tried to check on the net, but I've had no luck with this--just recipes using Brie.
So how do I begin my cheese experience?

[Plongeur]

We serve it at room temperature with bread (pain de campagne - rustic loaf) and a few dried fruits (raisins, apricots for example) to decorate the plate and a few salad leaves (again really for decoration). You need to take it out of the fridge about an hour before eating.

[sucrechef]

Almost all cheeses should be served at room temperature. Some useful websites about cheese are:

www.cheese.com
www.ilovecheese.com
www.cheesesociety.org

Each of these sites has useful information about a variety of cheeses: type, style, storage, serving ideas, recipes, etc.

[MarkV]

Spread it on French bread and have it with a bottle of Boreaux.

Pure Heaven.

Mark

[jenni belle]

How funny to find this topic. This is just the dinner my husband and I had the other night. We bought a lovely brie 'infused' with mushrooms and ate it with a crispy baguette and a bottle of wine. It was devine.

[Marzoli]

Thanks for all the help!

[panini]

Marzoli,
A book called The World of Cheese by Evan Jones is a verey affordible soft cover and has good info.
Pan

[OzarkRose]

Another easy and informative read is American Cheese and Wine by Laura Werlin. It gives you a great place to start with pairing the two and she profiles producers, giving contacts.

[Suzanne]

There are also a couple of books by Max McCalman and David Gibbons. Max is the "affineur" (aka cheese guy ) for Picholine and Artisanal, 2 restaurants here in NYC that are known for their cheese selections. Artisanal also has a whole "cheese center" where they age cheese, teach classes, etc. Not that I expect you to run here -- just to let you know that Max knows his stuff.

[chefmikesworld]

I love gooey brie!!!!!!!!!!!!

I take the brie split in half, put on a layer of peaches, apricots or something simiilar, some roasted crushed pinenuts, then wrap it in puff pastry and bake it---served with a nice rustic bread and a good Merlot...

Heaven on Earth...

Cheffy's two cents

[auntdot]

Love baked brie.

But agree with sucrechef, as a rule of thumb, serve at room temperature.

[henry]

I saw a wheel of brie in a colorful display at a recent wedding.
It was the larger wheel, sliced in spokes, in between each slice was a thin apple slice, alternating red and green apples, then sprinkled with sugared pecans. It was not only visually appealing, but expanded the wheel and made it "bigger".

For a quick special treat, I like to microve a small gob till it's gooey and eat it with a spoon while it's hot.

My wife won't eat the crust but I like it, the taste as well as the texture.

[MarkV]

Originally Posted by chefmikesworld

served with a nice rustic bread and a good Merlot.

Make it a right bank Bordeaux (higher in merlot) and I'm down.

Mark

[coolguy53]

Hello
i think you dont have to freeze it or heat it
You have to jsut serve it in cuttings at normal room temperature and it will taste quite good
So have a good eating and enjoy yourselves

[castironchef]

AND, the next time you're grilling up a burger, try making it a Brie Burger.

Decadent.