Brie is considered a
soft, semi-ripened cheese, similar to
Port Salut. Some interesting brie
tidbits not already listed above, courtesy of my
Winter Break job at the imported cheeses counter.
When opening brie, inhale deeply. If it smells like cat piss, the brie is bad. Don't eat it. Even stabilized brie goes bad quite easily. This is especially important because most people don't know much about brie, so when they buy it on their own for the first time they may think this is the proper smell. This is not a good thing.
Yes, the white rind is mold. But then again, all cheese is essentially mold. Suck it up and eat, if you are going to eat brie, you might as well do it right.
Brie tastes best on plain english biscuit-type crackers. Salty crackers or those with too much butter just don't work. Don't do it.
While most bries are considered double cream, the very best brie is St. Andre, a triple cream brie. It is almost 75 percent butterfat with a very sweet taste, closer to cheesecake than to cheese.
Never use a triple cream brie in a recipe that doesn't specifically call for it. Just eat it on crackers topped with preserves or all fruit.
With a normal brie, I recommend melting butter and brown sugar together in a sauce pan until you get a thick brown syrup. When it has almost carmelized, pour it over the entire brie wedge. Serve with plain crackers and en-joy!