How to make this Brie

[Jeannie]

Here are pictures of an amazing breakfast brie at my local market.  I would like to make but don't understand why there is no rind.  I asked the cheese person working and she said they spray something that prevents the rind.  Has anyone ever heard of this?

[Bantams]

How strange!
My guess is natamycin.

[mikekchar]

Nah.  Look at how the outside of the cheese is softened.  This is super easy: spray with geotrichum and keep the humidity high.  Geotrichum is actually really cool in a way because it doesn't really like humidity.  In response to it, it makes a kind of beige gel and grows *inside the gel*.  In some strains of geo, it even grows bubbles and blooms inside the bubbles -- If you rub the outside of the cheese it will suddenly reveal the white bloom.  But, for example, those pictures are *exactly* what Geo17 looks like if you keep the humidity too high.  However, it will only stay that way for a few weeks.  It will start to turn orange (though I don't know if it's really b. linens or some other phenomenon because it doesn't ever seem to smell like b. linens).

[Scarlettbri12]

I believe I have had this exact cheese you are mentioning. I don't know what the cheese person was saying or if its correct, but I was always under the impression it was either the same make as their stabilized paste brie without ripening cultures added, or just very VERY young version sold prior to allowing those ripening cultures to start growing.

It tastes exactly like a fresh stabilized paste brie prior to allowing ripening from my experience.

[Jeannie]

Thank you for all the responses. Can't wait to try to replicate.

[SOSEATTLE]

I think I have had this cheese also, but recall it only being called "Petite Breakfast Cheese", not a "Brie". It was quite a young cheese.


Susan

[Jeannie]

Hi Susan,
Yes we are discussing the same cheese.  Isn't it amazing? The entire label reads: Petite Breakfast Fresh Brie.
It is very young brie.  Maybe they don't age it?  I'll try both ways.  Not aging it and also spraying with geotrichum as mikekchar suggested.
Thank for your response!
Jeannie

[Lancer99]

It does indeed look like a very young, and not particularly well-made Brie, without the delicious rind, without the delicious taste the molds eventually bring to the cheese, without the lovely goopiness of a Brie.  The perfect not-a-Brie.

.

[mikekchar]

I didn't realise it was the "Petite Breakfast Cheese" (used to be called "Petite Breakfast Brie" -- props to the company for changing the name even though they've sold it under the original name for about 100 years).  This is quite a famous cheese.  Somewhere around 1920 or so there was an outbreak of avian flu and they had to kill a lot of chickens.  The dock workers used to eat eggs for breakfast, but there were no eggs so the Marin Cheese company stepped up to the plate to make a fresh cheese that the dock workers could eat for breakfast.  It's not really a Brie -- the make is similar to a Brie de Meaux (full rennet, cut curd, not cooked) but obviously the size is completely different and it's not aged at all.  I've never had this cheese, but if I ever make it out to California it's high on my list.  I've been planning to make a similar cheese for ages but just haven't gotten around to it.  Hmmm... maybe this weekend is a good time to do it...  Obviously not at all a Brie style cheese (again props to the company for respecting the DPO and changing the name) but I'm relatively sure I would love this style of cheese.

[Lancer99]

I apologize if I sounded negative in my previous post.

Fascinating story, thanks!

-L

[not_ally]

Stumbled across this looking for something else, but apparently it was named to a list of "Best of California" cheeses in 2019 along with cheese from Cypress Grove, Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes and the like.  Honestly, I was with Lancer at first, it looked a bit strange and naked-ish, but having googled it I'd love to try it.

https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/best-cheese-california-bay-area-point-reyes-13851224.php