Cheeses of Meaux and the Brie country
The cathedral city of the Brie plateau east of Paris, home of Brie de Meaux, with Melun's darker Brie to the south.
Made, aged and sold here
Best time: May to October.
Meaux, on the Marne east of Paris, is the main town of the Brie, a plateau of wheat fields, woods and dairy farms. Brie de Meaux, a broad, flat, soft cheese with a white rind, has been sold in Paris for centuries and is said to have been hailed as the king of cheeses at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Melun, to the south, makes a smaller, stronger Brie.
Two Bries
Brie de Meaux is made from raw cow's milk set with rennet, ladled into large wide moulds and aged for at least four weeks, often longer, until it softens and smells of mushrooms and hazelnut. Brie de Melun is smaller and thicker, set mostly by souring, salted longer and aged longer, with a sharper flavour and a rind flecked with red and brown. Both are protected names.
Meaux and the plateau
Meaux has a Gothic cathedral where the bishop Bossuet preached, an old episcopal garden and the remains of town walls. It is also home to a large museum of the First World War, since the first Battle of the Marne was fought nearby. Melun lies on the Seine, close to the château of Vaux-le-Vicomte and the forest of Fontainebleau.
A trail idea for Meaux and the Brie country
- Meaux Cathedral The Gothic cathedral and the bishop's garden.
- A Meaux cheese shop Taste Brie de Meaux at different ages.
- Musée de la Grande Guerre The large First World War museum outside the town.
- Melun Compare Brie de Melun in its home town on the Seine.
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Meaux" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets, caves and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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