With their velvety outers barely containing their silky centres, both Bries were sexy. I was pitting a French raw milk Brie de Meaux against a Whitestone Lindis Pass Brie to answer the cheesey conundrum – raw or pasteurised cheese?

Most of the cheeses we eat are made from pasteurised milk which has been heated up to 75° C (167° F) for 15 seconds or more. This destroys undesirable pathogens like Listeria and E-coli which can cause foodborne illnesses.

I was chuffed with nationalistic pride as I laid the two cheeses out. The Lindis Pass is a Brie whose looks and texture stand up to a French AOC cheese.

And it certainly lives up to its promise. Silky and smooth, it is buttery like clotted cream with a caramel nuttiness giving way to earthy mushroom. This is the best New Zealand Brie I have tasted and the Whitestone cheese makers have done a grand job producing a cheese worthy of this ancient name.

This is unlike the standard Brie/Camenberts that are available in NZ supermarkets. Sweet, creamy and pleasant, they are undemanding and nothing like either of these two starlets.

Next, the Brie de Meaux. A Fromi from Moore Wilsons.

Immediately you’re hit by the extra power of the raw milk. It has oomph. It intoxicates with its caramelised vegetal flavours, which relax into a savoury, umami tang, like the crunchy bits at the bottom of a roasting pan.

You notice how long this cheese lingers on the pallete, the tastes move and sway like a torch singer in the moonlight. This is hot, and what seduced my eyes now swooned in my mouth.

Oh what a difference, as one of my cheesey friends noted, it is hard to go back. After the big seduction of the raw milk, the pasteurised cheese was just a little bit pallid, a little less Mae West, a little more wallflower.

So there are a few things I learnt in this Battle of the Bries. Kiwis can make fine Brie. And I can’t wait to try a Kiwi Brie of this quality made with raw milk.

I also learnt that it is unfair to contrast. A raw milk cheese will overshadow a pasteurised equivalent. So be careful mixing raw and pasteurised cheeses on a cheese board. I tend to stick with one or the other, except in a tasting like this.

And finally be prepared to pay. Raw milk cheeses are more expensive. But the good thing is they have stronger flavours that last longer in the mouth, so in theory you should need less of them. Hmm that’s the theory. In reality we scoffed both cheeses they were so darn good.

Thank you lovely cheesemakers.

PS. We drunk a cheap and cheerful Stables Chardonnay and it was elevated into golden pineapple delight by these two cheeses. Good cheese really can make the most of cheap wine.

References

www.whitestonecheese.co.nz

http://www.fromi.com/en/cheese-world-2

http://www.foodsmart.govt.nz/food-safety/high-risk-foods/raw-milk/
More variety on the cheese board
Which Milk Is Best For Cheese Making?

http://www.cheese-france.com/cheese/brie.htm