Brie a la Truffe is an indulgent and unctuous soft cheese from France made by slicing open a Brie de Meaux and then adding a layer of fresh chopped Winter Black Truffles in the centre mixed with a fresh mascarpone cream to create a Brie and Truffle “sandwich.”
Created by Fromagerie Beillevaire this Brie a la Truffe starts its life as a Brie de Meaux made by the celebrated Donge family in France. These bries, named after the town of Meaux, are French cheeses produced some 50 kilometres to the east of Paris.
Evidence in the chronicles of Charlemagne suggests the tasting of Brie by the Emperor in the year 774. It is also said that Louis XVI last wish was a tasting of Brie cheese. In 1814, the European Tournament at Congress of Vienna, awarded a Brie de Meaux as being the “Le Roi des Fromages” (The King of Cheeses) for its unarguable flavour and texture.
Each cheese is dry salted and allowed to mature or “Affinage” on reed mats, in cool, but not cold conditions, with the greatest care being taken to ensure that the fragile cheeses are brought up to peak condition. Granted AOC status in 1980, Brie de Meaux AOC can only come from a tightly defined area in the Ile-de-France near Paris, a region that has maintained its rural traditions and hand-crafted production.
Brie a la Truffe is a raw, soft unpasteurised cheese made with milk form Montebeliarde cattle. It is covered with a bloomy rind, which is the result of the cheese being inoculated with Penicillium Candidum mould. As the cheese ages, the rind develops resulting in red or brown patches.
The Brie a la Truffe has a milky and rich taste underlined by sweet and buttery flavours of truffles and almonds but combined with the extra layer of Truffles and mascarpone. The Brie de Meaux is only prepared for the black Truffles and mascarpone when it reaches perfect maturity; between 4 and 6 weeks. These additions elevate the cheese to another level and is the perfect cheese for a special celebration accompanied by a glass of champagne.
