Soft and bloomy-rind

How they are made

Milk is set gently and the curd is ladled into tall moulds with as little handling as possible, so it keeps its moisture. The cheeses drain under their own weight, are salted, and are sprayed with or already carry white mould spores before they go into humid ripening rooms. Within days a soft white down appears, and the cheeses are turned so it grows evenly. Brie de Meaux is ladled with a perforated shovel called a pelle à brie, and Camembert de Normandie is still ladled by hand under its protected rules.

Ripeness

A young bloomy cheese has a firm, chalky core inside a soft rim. Over the following weeks the softening reaches the centre. A ripe Brie bulges when cut but should not run like water, and it smells of mushroom and cream rather than ammonia. Double- and triple-cream cheeses, such as Brillat-Savarin, have cream added to the milk, which makes them richer and denser and gives them a taste close to butter. Ripeness is a matter of taste: some people like the chalky centre, others wait for it to vanish.

Beyond France

The style has travelled widely. England has Tunworth from Hampshire and Baron Bigod from Suffolk, the United States and Canada have a strong farmstead tradition of bloomy cheeses, and Australia and New Zealand make Brie and Camembert in volume. In India, a young generation of artisan cheesemakers has taken up bloomy rinds alongside paneer and Gouda-type cheeses, and Camembert-style cheeses are now made in small batches for city tables.

Worth knowing

• Brie de Meaux: Large, flat raw-milk Brie from east of Paris
• Camembert de Normandie: Hand-ladled raw-milk Camembert of Normandy
• Coulommiers: A smaller, thicker cousin of Brie
• Chaource: Tall, lightly tangy bloomy cheese of Champagne
• Neufchâtel: Normandy cheese often shaped as a heart
• Brillat-Savarin: Triple-cream cheese, rich and buttery
• Tunworth: English Camembert-style cheese from Hampshire

Good to know

• Take soft-ripened cheese out of the fridge about an hour before serving.
• Wrap it in waxed or cheese paper rather than cling film, which traps moisture and brings out ammonia.
• Cut a round into wedges from the centre so that everyone gets both rind and core.
• The white rind is edible and part of the flavour.

Sources and further reading

• Bloomy rind on Wikipedia
• Brie, Wikipedia
• Camembert, Wikipedia