Well, I am aware that the brie available in our stores is not the real, raw-milk thing. I read a detailed description of a large brie plant in France, which takes milk in one side and coughs out thermized, and then pasteurized (really hot) cheese out the other side, which must more closely resemble pasteurized cheese food product, or whatever they call it....
Of course, the issue is the amount of time it takes to create real brie, vs. the 60-day FDA requirement for ripening cheese in America. There IS a kind of "semi-stabilized" Normandie brie, which will continue to ripen somewhat, since it is heated to a lower temperature.
This, from their site:
"Note; true, AOC raw milk camembert has a life of only 57 days, thus, U.S. import requirements that unpasteurized, ripening cheeses be aged 60 days before admission to the country are automatically impossible to satisfy."
So, it's not so much that Americans like the bland taste of these cheeses, as that these are the only versions making it across due to our rules.
Same goes for Reblochon.....
regards,
Sue