Brillat Savarin is a beautiful triple creme brie-style cheese from Ile de France named after the 18th century gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. This cheese is definitely one of the more decadent cheeses that we have in our case. It is super rich and creamy with a hint of earthiness from the rind. And if you remember from a previous post, in order to be called triple creme it must have at least 75% butterfat. This cheese has butterfat and it has it in spades. The wheel itself weighs around a pound and looks like a nice, fluffy pillow.
When you cut into the wheel, you can see the edge around the rind is more creamy than the inner paste. If you left the wheel whole and let it continue to age in the right environment, the cheese will continue to ripen and become more and more creamy. I have had experiences with Brillat Savarin where the wheel is so ripe that when we cut it in half, it just oozes all over the place. This is a good thing when you are about ready to eat it, not so good when you're trying to wrap it for customers... :).
As I alluded to before, this cheese pairs amazingly well with sparkling wines. Because it is so rich and creamy, the effervesence of the sparkling wines helps cut through the fat and lighten it up. (This pairing tends to work with most triple creme brie-style cheeses.) So if you want to impress your friends this New Years, bring a wedge of Brillat Savarin with your favorite sparkling wine and you will be the talk of the evening. For an added treat, we also sell Brillat Savarin with a truffle paste running through the middle. It's a step up in the decadence scale and always a favorite.
I hope to see you at the cheese counter before the New Year to help you prepare for your parties. Until then, eat, drink and be happy!
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