starters,” says Sarah Wehl-ing, another member of
the Costco cheese
team, who recently
became an American Cheese Society
Certified Cheese
Professional
(CCP). CCP designation is given only
to those who have
more than 4,000 hours
of experience in the
cheese industry and have
passed a rigorous exam.
“We even altered the size of our
molds,” she continues. “If the cheese
is too thin, for example, it will age too fast.
We tweaked the recipe for over a year to get it
just right. Our fridges were filled with samples
from France.”
The new French Brie, which is now in
warehouse coolers, was in fact seven years in
the making, from concept to finished pack-
age. The biggest hurdle was determining the
recipe. Basically there are two types of
cheeses: stabilized or static cheese, which
keeps its texture and consistency throughout
its entire shelf life, and lactic cheese, which
changes from firm and chalky to runny and
drippy over the course of its life. “We were
looking for a buttery Brie with complexity,”
says Costco cheese buyer Curtis Adamson,
“but not a cheese that was too overpowering.”
In the end the team decided to create a recipe
that employs a bit of both processes.
Crafting Brie
From milking to shipping, Costco’s
Kirkland Signature™ Brie takes 20 to 25 days
to produce. Milk is collected every 48 hours
from dairies that lie no farther than 50 miles
from Isigny’s production plant. The milk is
pasteurized and curdled, then put in a mold,
Milk from cows that graze on Normandy’s mineral-rich pasture- land gives extra richness to Kirkland Signature French Brie.
drained and demolded.
Real sea salt—grains,
not liquid salt—is
added to the mixture, nothing more,
and the cheese is
allowed to dry for
12 hours. Then it
goes into a maturation cellar for 10
days. Finally, it’s
wrapped with a special cheese paper, put
in a traditional wooden
box and placed in the ripening cellar for a week
before it is loaded onto a cargo
ship for delivery.
e
The many stages of ripening
How do you like your Brie? The new
Kirkland Signature Brie offers a flavor for
every palate. If you prefer a firm, mild Brie,
you’ll want to eat the cheese as soon as you
purchase it. If you like a fuller flavor, keep the
cheese in the refrigerator and wait until close
to the “sell by” date before slicing into the
wheel. The Brie will be more mellow and buttery, with a rind that is harder and has an
acidic punch.
Of course, you can try it any time in
between for an altogether different flavor.
Heads up, though: You can’t experience both
the mild and the fuller flavor in the same
wheel, even if you wait two weeks between
your first and second tastes. As soon as you
slice into the cheese, you effectively stop it
from ripening any further, just like cutting
into a piece of fruit.
Serving Brie
As with all cheese, it’s best to remove Brie
from the refrigerator an hour or two before
serving it, so it has time to come to room temperature. I asked Plessis if the French eat only
the creamy center of the Brie or the rind as
well. You can do whatever you prefer, he
assured me, but the French typically eat both
the rind—the “white velvet” is how he
describes it—together with the softer interior.
A cheese board with one or several types
of cheeses is a typical way to end a meal in
France, and I can’t think of a better way to
enjoy a bottle of wine with friends than
accompanying it with a trio of cheeses. I recommend Kirkland Signature’s American Blue
and the Cave Aged Cheddar (see sidebar) as
companions for the new French Brie, though
you might want to pick up an extra round of
Brie—just for you. C
Tracy Schneider lives with her husband and
daughter in Washington state.
Kirkland Signature
Creamy American Blue
Milk: Cow; Type: Semisoft
Wine pairing: Port, Sauternes
• Made in Wisconsin using fresh milk
from local family dairies, Kirkland
Signature Creamy American Blue
Cheese has a smooth texture and
tangy flavor. Item #43738
Kirkland Signature
Cave Aged Cheddar
Milk: Cow; Type: Semihard
Wine pairing: Pinot Noir
• Crafted in Vermont, Kirkland
Signature Cave Aged Cheddar is
clothbound and spends months
maturing and aging in hillside caves.
As it ages, this cheddar develops a
subtle sharpness with a balanced
sweet, nutty finish. Item #88888
Kirkland Signature
Fresh Goat Cheese
Milk: Goat; Type: Soft
Wine pairing: Sauvignon Blanc
• Made with 100 percent fresh milk,
Kirkland Signature Fresh Goat Cheese
has a brilliant white color and a creamy
texture. The flavor is bright and acidic,
with an earthy finish. Item #9090
Kirkland Signature
Lake Country Cheese
Milk: Cow; Type: Semi-Hard
Wine pairing: Light Italian red
• Kirkland Signature Lake Country
Cheese is made in northwest
Wisconsin under the watchful eye of
a Master Cheesemaker. It is naturally
aged for more than 12 months in
order to attain its distinctive taste
and texture. Slightly sharp, slightly
nutty. Item #43045
Kirkland Signature
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Milk: Cow; Type: Hard
Wine pairing: Big Italian red
• Eaten in Italy since before the
Renaissance, Parmigiano-Reggiano is
crafted today as it was centuries ago.
Our Kirkland Signature Parmigiano-Reggiano is imported from Italy and
made using traditional methods.
Aged a full 24 months, it has a sharp,
tangy flavor. Item #34777
• Kirkland Signature Grana Padano,
aged 18 months, and Kirkland
Signature Pecorino Romano, aged
nine months, are also imported
directly from Italy and are available
in select stores. Item #34781, #34779
Costco’s other
“Signature” cheeses