Triple Creme Brie
- Producer
- Marin French Cheeese Co.
- Region
- California
- Size
- 4 ins diameter, 1.5 ins high
- Weight
- 8 oz
- Website
- www.marinfrenchcheese.com
- Milk
- Cow
- Treatment
- Pasteurised
- Classification
- Semi Soft
- Rennet
- Microbial
- Rind
- Mold Ripened
- Style
- Soft-Ripened (Brie-like)
Located just west of Petaluma in northern California, the Marin French Cheese Company was founded in 1865 by Jefferson A. Thompson, largely as a response to the burgeoning demand for cheese arising from returning Gold Rush miners. Today it’s the oldest continuously operating creamery in the United States. Milk for cheese production originally came from the company's own herds of cattle that grazed the 700 acres of land surrounding the creamery. However, during the Depression of the 1930's, Marin French decided to focus its efforts entirely on production and try to support its neighbors by buying in milk from local farms. This arrangement continues today.
To make the cheese, pasteurized cow's milk plus added cream is poured into 'make' buckets. Bacterial starters are added to each bucket and then the microbial rennet and either a mold or yeast culture are added. (The mold and yeast cultures are interchanged regularly every few days of production, since this promotes the health of each culture and keeps them alive.)
With the addition of the rennet, the milk coagulates. It is then cut into cubes using a long bladed knife and gently stirred at regular intervals. As the acidity level rises, the curds become firmer until they reach a point where they are ready to be poured into the molds and allowed to drain naturally. The cheeses are unmolded and brined, then placed on racks to dry before they’re transferred to the aging rooms where they will spend 10-14 days before release. The cheeses are turned once during this time to promote mold growth.
Another version of this cheese is also produced with black truffles in the paste: Triple Crème Brie with Truffles.
Tasting Notes
The interior paste of the Triple Creme is dense, soft and smooth with occasional small holes. It is pale butter yellow in color. Flavors are rich, buttery and taste slightly of mushrooms and almonds.
Pairings
Pair Triple Creme Brie with anything bubbly, from Cava or Champagne to saison and maibock. An unoaked chardonnay would also pair well with this cheese's texture.
