153. French Brie.[54]—Brie cheese has its center of production in Seine-et-Marne, east of Paris in northern France. The apparatus, arrangement of the factories and details of manipulation differ from those described for Camembert, but the final product is in flavor and texture closely related to Camembert. Brie cheeses are the same thickness as Camembert, 1 to 1¼ inches; in diameter, however, there are three or more sizes varying from 8 to 16 inches, or even greater. The largest cheeses weigh 5 to 6 pounds. As in Camembert, practices of making and ripening vary to such a degree as to produce various qualities of product. These run from whole milk through all shades of skimming. Perhaps the best established practice puts the cheese-making room next to the stalls of the cows. The milk is drawn, strained directly into the curdling cans and renneted while still warm,—86-92° F. (30-33° C.). No lactic starter is added and no ripening period is given to the milk. The other manipulations differ only in detail from Camembert. Ripening of Brie follows the same course with the same organic agents, namely, Camembert mold (Penicillium Camemberti) and Oidium lactis with the accompaniment of a mixture of slimy organisms upon the surface of the cheese. The process admits of many minor modifications each capable of affecting the product in a characteristic way. The judgment and skill of the maker is given a wide opportunity to establish and work toward a particular ideal of appearance and texture and flavor. Brands with characteristic qualities, therefore, command their own market.
Brie as known in France must not be confused with the American "d'Isigny," or with the particular sizes of that type which have been called Brie on account of diameter only. Very little Brie as known in France has been made in America and only a limited amount has been imported for very restricted trade.
154. Coulommiers.—Another member of the Camembert group is called, from its place of origin, Coulommiers. This form is made at the same thickness as Camembert and about 5¼ inches in diameter. It appears as either a ripened or unripe cheese. As a ripened cheese, Coulommiers is not essentially different from Camembert except that some brands are made without salting. As a cheese eaten unripe, it has certain advantages over the other cheeses with the flavor of sour milk only. The cottage and (American) Neufchâtel group of cheeses comprises the best known forms with the acid flavor. These cheeses are very perishable in nature. On the other hand, Coulommiers as eaten fresh can be held and used over a much longer time without loss. Coulommiers[55] in this sense is simply a fresh Camembert. Such a cheese, when ready for the salting process, is a firm sour mass, close textured, almost impervious to air and but slowly permeable to liquids. Spoilage in such a cheese begins only on the outside, and not throughout the mass as in cottage cheese or Neufchâtel. Successive portions of such a cheese can be removed daily over a considerable period with no loss of substance aside from slight scraping at times and little or no change in flavor. This product has very tangible merit for manufacture and use on the farm in many sections of America.
CHAPTER IX
SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY BACTERIA
A bacterially-ripened series of cheeses parallels the mold-ripened group as typified by Camembert. Although the varieties overlap, these may be roughly grouped as: (1) those made from friable or soft curd; (2) those made from firm or rubbery curd. In the first group, the curd is set at 86° F., or below; in the second, the rennet is added at 90° F. or above. In the first, the lower temperature and long curdling time with ripened milk gives a soft friable curd which may be toughened somewhat by cutting and stirring in the whey. This section is typified by d'Isigny, American Brie, Liederkranz. In the second, curdling of unripened milk at temperatures of 90° F. or above insures a smooth elastic curd which fuses more or less completely into the firm rubbery mass typified by freshly made Limburger.
155. The Isigny group.—A series of names, d'Isigny, Brie, Brie d'Isigny, combined with trade names, are used for a domestic cheese, made in a small number of factories distributed over New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and California. The cheeses sold under the separate varietal names differ only in diameter; their thickness is fairly uniform; the process of manufacture and ripening with resultant textures and flavors furnishes no fundamental varietal characters, although the products of the several factories show noticeable differences in market quality. D'Isigny, while the name of a French town famous for butter production, is not used to designate a cheese in France. It may, therefore, be accepted as a French name arbitrarily applied to a domestic product. Brie as used in France is a markedly different cheese (p. 131), and the name should be dropped from this form as made in America. As used for a member of this series made in America, it merely means cheese 7 to 15 inches in diameter. The cheese partakes of the characters of French Livarot, and of Pont l'Eveque without exactly reproducing either form.
The milk varies from separator skim to whole milk, with resultant differences in quality. Freedom from gas is essential to the best results. The milk is curdled at 85° to 86° F. with sufficient rennet to produce a very firm curd within a period of one and one-half hours. Curd is then cut in two directions, allowed to stand a few minutes or gently agitated to produce a very slight toughness or "worked" condition, then scooped into hoops 4½ to 5 inches in height and varying in diameter from 2½ to 15 inches according to the size selected for manufacture. To aid in the escape of whey, three rows of holes ⅟12 inch in diameter and 2 inches apart in the row are made in each hoop. The hoops are arranged upon draining tables with more or less corrugated surface, which for best drainage should be covered with matting. The cheeses are allowed to drain without pressure. They are commonly turned the second morning, although they are sometimes solid enough to turn within the first day. When fully drained, the cheeses are salted by rubbing coarse salt on the surface, after which they stand an extra day. They are then arranged upon shelves in a ripening room held between 50° and 60° F. with humidity so high that evaporation is kept at a minimum. In this room, a surface slime develops quickly. This consists of bacteria of several forms, yeasts, Oidium lactis and accidental species of other molds. During this ripening, the cheeses are turned, rubbed with the hands, washed with salt water and scraped if infected with molds which produce colored colonies. In the course of ripening, the slimy surface layer acquires a yellowish orange color with the strong odor and taste characteristic of the series.