Brie

Brie is a soft cow's milk cheese, pale in color with a slight grayish tinge beneath an edible white-mold rind, named for the Brie region of France, in the Seine-et-Marne department, its name tracing to the Gaulish word briga, meaning hill or height. It contains between 60 and 75 percent butterfat, slightly more than its French relative Camembert, with a creamy, nutty, mushroom-like and slightly acidic flavor, and typically matures over five to six weeks, though a longer-aged, darker and more pungent version is called Brie noir. The general style of Brie is not protected, but the French government certifies only two specific types, Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun, both granted appellation d'origine controlee status in 1980.