Brillat-Savarin IGP

TASTING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

Made year-round in the Ile de France region, this IGP-certified soft-ripened triple cream cheese combines the lush butteriness of high-fat cream with whole, pasteurized milk. When young, around one or two weeks old, it tastes almost like fresh cheese. After four or five weeks of maturation, this cheese, with its blooming white rind and butter-white pâté, develops a more complex flavor profile. It is dense, moist, and faintly chalky, almost like salted butter with a hint of mushroom, nut, and black truffle.

PREPARATION OR PAIRINGS

Here is a rich cheese to be savored with incredibly good friends. Brillat-Savarin can be served as a dessert cheese or on a cheese board accompanied by grapes, pears, and melons—and truly crusty bread. A bit of strawberry jam and a dash of pepper will also enhance its flavors.

This cheese is lovely with fruity, full-bodied whites like Viognier or Champagnes. It’s especially wonderful with a few glasses of Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2005. Should you prefer a red wine, we suggest you turn to a Bordeaux or Châteauneuf-de-Pape. For the beer enthusiast, this cheese also goes well with pale ales!

BELOVED BY THE FROMAGERS

“Dessert without cheese is like a beauty with only one eye,” said famed 18th-century gastronome—and physiologist—Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Over a hundred years later, highly regarded fromager Henri Androuet named his creation, based on the earlier Excelsior cheese, after this titan of the gourmet world. Fitting, for its rich flavor that is fattier than Camembert and much creamier than Brie. It stands on a pedestal of its own. It brings to mind another of Brillat-Savarin’s endearing food quotes: “The discovery of a new dish confers more happiness on humanity than the discovery of a new star.”

Storage Instructions

Cheeses (except brined ones in jars) should be stored in the crisper or the butter drawer of a refrigerator, not on the shelves themselves. This is to help regulate their temperature and humidity levels—and prevents the formation of mold. Once opened, they should not be kept in their original packaging. Soft cheeses with delicate rinds need to breathe, so they are best placed in glass containers lined with paper towels to absorb extra moisture. Leave the lid open a tiny bit for air to circulate. Cheeses are air-flown from France on demand. They are meant to be consumed within 1 to 2 weeks of their arrival at your residence.