Brie and Camembert.

Having a break from gardening, after all, it can wait, the garden is always there, but one needs a change or at least a rest.  It was good catching up with girls friends over lunch in town to celebrate birthdays.  The restaurant is pretty good, service well food, not too fancy but taste alright.  I did have a lovely time, the two birthday girls were happy, and they did not even look a day older.  Happy Birthday, GirlFriends!  It was what I need to be away for a bit, and was so nourishing not only for the body but for the soul.  Here, I am back home and found my family faithfully waiting for me.  There was a time to have our afternoon tea together and was disturbed by the lovely melody of the phone calling us that a facetime was here for us, indeed, and it's from the Netherlands. We enjoyed to see the youngest granddaughter Ela, she will be ten months old tomorrow, the time has gone far to fast.  Both Ela and her mother looked so well, it was a sweet afternoon.  We are blessed that we could see them regularly via the facetime, thanks for modern technology.

Now, I am in my study thinking about what I would do to fill up the time for this evening. Doing a good thing is the way to go.  I have been reading about 'Cheese', I am curious about food and love to learn about it.  Yes, this is what I love to share with you the introduction of what is CHEESE. (based on New Larrouse Gatronomique).
I am a touch typist, should not find any problem to do the typing, while I am doing it, I am learning and at the same time sharing it with you all as you will be able to read it.

Draining Curds (New Larousse Gastronomique)

CHEESE, Fromage - Cheese is a product of curds, drained and, more often than not, fermented. Cheeses have a deservedly high reputation.  Switzerland produces Gruyère and Emmenthal; England, Cheshire, Cheddar and Stilton; Italy, Parmesan and Gorgonzola; Holland, Gouda and Edam, and so on.  It may justly be claimed, however, that no country has so great a variety and range of cheeses as France, where almost every rural district has its own local cheese.
From the earliest time cheese has been made in stock-rearing countries to use up surplus milk.  Nowadays, there are so many different kinds of cheese that no list, however long, could claim to be complete.  Every country, every district, has its own unique cheese.  Many local

(picture-Larousse)

The history of cheese is a very ancient one. We know from the Manuel del'Antiquité celtique that the remains of enormous cheese draining racks can be found on Mont Beuvray.

The art of making fromage persillé, her-injected cheese, goes back to the Romans who mixed their cheese with powdered thyme.  Le Grand d'Aussy, in his book Histoire de la vie privée des Français (1783) says; 'Even today in certain regions of Lorraine they make a cheese impregnated with fennel seeds.'

We also know that Blanche de Navarre sent 200 kinds of cheese to Philippe Auguste every year and that the poet François Villon bequeathed in his famous will a titmouse, a kind of cheese souffle, to his friends Jehan Regnier.

It was the custom at the beginning of the fifteen century to send a gift of cheeses to persons one admired.  For example, Charles d'Orléans, in the year 1407, sent several to 'ladies to whom he was attached'.  In the sixteen century, Brie cheese was considered the best of all. The cheeses of Dauphiné, Vexin, Auvergne, Switzerland, Holland, and Italy were also very much in demand.
[ I thought I stop here, there are a lot more information about cheese, to be continued]

Specific Cheese; Brie and Camembert.

BRIE
This cheese has a claim to nobility.  As long ago as the fifteenth century, Charles d'Orléans, father of Louis XII, ordered Bries by the dozen to give as New Year presents to his friends.  Two centuries later, Saint Amant, the poet of good living, devoted a much-quoted ode to 'this gentle jam of Bacchus:

Now then, let us shout with all our might:
Blessed be the land of Brie
Pont-l'Evêgue, get thee behind us!
Auvergne and Milan, out of our sight.
Brie alone deserves that we
Should record her praises in letters of gold.
Gold, I say, and with good reason,
Since it is with gold that one must compare
This cheese to which I now pay homage.
It is as yellow as the god worshipped by man,
But without its anxiety
For one has only to press it with one's fingers
For it to split its sides with laughter
And run over with fat.
Why then, is it not endless
As indeed its circular form is endless?
Why must its full moon, eternally appetising,
Wane to a crescent?

The cheese of Brie has not deteriorated since that time.
On the contrary, it has actually improved in quality and is now more uniformly excellent, since the local farmers, abandoning the old methods, use the ferment tested and recommended by the laboratory at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre.

Brie is fully ripe when the cheese is all the same texture.
When pressure is exerted on the surface of a section, the cheese should bulge but not run.  Brie is made of various size.  A large Brie may be up to 54cm (22 inches) in diameter, a medium Brie up to 42 cm (16 inches), a small one not more than 33 cm (13 inches).  There are different kinds of Brie known as Bries fermiers, laitiers and façon Coulommiers.

It takes from 13 litres (2 3/4 gallons, 3 1/2 gallons) to 20 litres (4 1/2 gallons, 5 1/2 gallons) milk to make cheese, according to size.  Although whole milk is always used, some experts advise a little skimming - bringing the percentage of cream down to 25 or 27 per cent-because, they maintain, a higher cream content makes the cheese bitter.

A good Brie must be creamy but not runny and should be pale yellow in colour.
Brie de Meaux. At its best from November to May.
Brie de Coulommiers.  Smaller than Brie de Meaux - approximately 26cm. (10 inches) In diameter.                                                                                                           At its best from November to May.
Brie de Melun.  This made in thicker and smaller rounds than Brie de Meaux.  It is a unique cheese with a much more pronounced aroma, being saltier and more piquant.  It is good all year round.
Brie de Montereau.  Made in the same way as Brie de Meaux but is a smaller and deeper cheese.

Brie is one of the soft cheeses I like, and here in Australia, I would choose the Tasmanian Heritage Double Brie cheese.  Serve as a part of a cheese platter with cracker and fresh fruits.  However, I love to serve the cheese baked inside of bread-Brie in Brioche.  Choosing the brand of the cheese is not easy, but by trying the products in the end, you could decide what the best for you is.
You could find the Brie in Brioch in an older post.  Type: Brie in Brioche to search.

Freshly Baked Brie in Brioche

A good reading I found, learning is delightful activities, it is improving my general knowledge at least.  No, I won't be a cheese expert, but knowing what it is, how to make it, and where it comes from is good enough.  It also gives me the confidence to have it and to use it.

Shall we move on to get to know other soft cheese:  Camembert.

CAMEMBERT
Camembert - A soft cheese, invented, or instead perfected in about the year 1790 by a local farmer's wife, Mme Harel, to whom, in grateful memory, a statue has been erected.

Picture: New Larousse Gastronomique)

Good quality Camembert is made from whole unskimmed milk.  The cheese is produced mainly in the winter by a process similar to that used in the manufacture of Brie, but the microorganisms are different and give to the cheese a slight characteristic bitterness which the makers attribute to the oat-straw of the wicker trays.

Camembert which is chiefly made in the region of Vimoutiers and Livarot is disc-shaped, thicker and much smaller than Brie.  The cheese must be pale yellow, smooth, without holes, and firm.

It is made today all over France and even in other countries, but by law, its place of origin must be indicated.  The Camembert season lasts from November to May.
(CHEESE: based on New Larousse Gastronomique) By Prosper Montagné
Originally published under the title: Nouveau Larousse Gastronomique by Prosper Montagné.

I did not know much about cheese, now I have learnt, and I must move forward to understand what I have to do with it properly.  There are lots of different cheeses.
The Soft Cheeses: Brie and Camembert are family favourite.
Which one do you like?  Brie or Camembert?  I love both.  Well, now I know the difference, as camembert is a soft cheese and firmer than Brie, I am sure it can be served other ways.
It is just about time to try to bake camembert in bread or wrap in pastry; it could be sliced better to serve.  Could we fry it?  Indeed, I know lots of recipes for fried Camembert.  Serve with a fresh leafy salad.


The Post.
Maybe one or two people out there like and gain positive experience by reading this post, I would be pleased.  What a reward on my behalf.  But, otherwise, I have so much to gain by learning the topic which is Cheese and reaching out to others.
To be free and to have fun is so easy what you could do is simply DO good with no expectation.

A Quote

Today was good.  Today was fun.  Tomorrow is another one.

Dr Seuss

CHEESE to be continued.  Stay Tuned.


Susy