Brie cheese is made from cow's milk containing spores of the white mold. The traditional manufacture of Brie cheese involved initially warming the milk to 32 °C and then adding coagulating enzyme to initiate curd development within 2–3 h.
The curd is deposited into open-ended molds with holes on the sides to facilitate whey drainage. Whey is let to drain for a few hours. The curd settles to form cheese disks, which are ripened at 15 °C and 85% humidity.
Frequently, the white mold spores are sprayed on the disks of cheese at the start of ripening period. Initial ripening for about 8 days occurs in a well-ventilated drying room maintained at 13 -16 °C. During this time, the curd softens rapidly and becomes slightly yellow and translucent in color, and a felt-like layer of white mold appears on the surface.
In about 2–3 weeks, white mold grows all over the surface of cheese. Strict sanitary measures are necessary to avoid the growth of contaminants and to preserve the white appearance of Brie cheese.
After 2 weeks, cheese is wrapped in cheese paper, wax paper or butcher paper and aged at 50 °C for 2- 4 more weeks depending on the size of the wheel and ripeness wanted.
Brie cheese production
