14 Mistakes Everyone Makes With Brie

Brie is one of the classiest cheeses out there, and when you eat it, you wanna make sure you're doing it right. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done. Consuming this ancient cheese can be a metaphorical minefield of rules, etiquette, and preparation to ensure that you're getting the best bite possible. While all cheeses are best when eaten in a certain way, brie benefits enormously from being at a specific temperature and being sliced in a particular manner — and if you're getting this wrong, you're ending up with a substandard piece of what can be a very expensive cheese.

Plus, while brie is famed for its ripeness and slightly funky taste, it's easy to overdo things. Contrary to popular belief, brie can go bad as easily as other foods, and the way you're treating it might be causing it to spoil more quickly. Even if you're keeping your brie safe, you might not be serving it right: This cheese is famed for being a perfect pair for several different delectable accompaniments, but it's all too easy to ruin it by eating it with items that get in the way of its flavor. Thankfully, once you check out these key mistakes, you'll never get your brie game wrong again.

We're all guilty of sneaking a bite or two of cheese straight from the fridge, but when it comes to brie, you're gonna want to give it a chance to come up to room temperature first. One of brie's key selling points is its gooey, soft texture, but like other cheeses, it tightens up when it's kept at low temperatures. This may make it slightly easier to slice without any mess, but it also limits that smooth softness and your ability to spread it onto bread or crackers.

Eating brie when it's at fridge temperature also limits its flavor. Food generally tastes more intense when it's at room temperature, and allowing brie to warm slightly allows its flavors to fully blossom and its nutty notes to expand onto your palette. Having said this, leaving brie out to come up to temperature can be a little bit of a risky game. If you leave it on the counter for too long, your brie will start to sweat, ruining its texture and making it look and taste just a little gross. Just 15 to 20 minutes should be more than sufficient for it to reach perfect temperature.

When brie is baked, its insides turn soft and almost astonishingly gooey, with its flavors blossoming and developing to become even more complex. Unlike other baked cheeses, all of this gooeyness is contained in brie's thick rind, which stops it from spilling all over your oven. There's one surefire way to make it spill everywhere, though — and that's cutting it from the side. People commonly cut into their baked brie as they would do if it was cool or at room temperature, trying to slice off a wedge (like they would a hot pizza). They're then surprised when it oozes like lava onto the plate, leaving you to try and scoop up the mess.

You can avoid all of this by cutting your baked brie from the top down. You have a few options to do this. The first is to just slice off the whole top edge of the rind, removing the cap and exposing the brie's interior. You can then top your brie with whatever you like, or just dunk your bread straight in. Alternatively, make a cross-section on the top of your brie and peel back the corners to reveal the inside.

Brie is undeniably an "event" cheese (one that often appears on the table when you're hosting a dinner party). So, if you're going to buy brie for special occasions, you're also going to want to make sure you follow some key etiquette rules. One of them, avoiding "pointing" the brie, is one that'll win you some points with your well-to-do friends. "Pointing" brie refers to cutting the tip off of a wedge of cheese. The idea behind this faux pas is that if you point your brie, you're not only ruining the traditional way that brie should be served, but you're also failing to enjoy the full flavor of each slice.

While this can sound a little fussy, it does ring true. Brie rinds taste different from the soft interior, but the whole cheese comes together as part of its flavor experience. By pointing your brie, you're just getting one half of the equation, and leaving the other half for someone else to deal with. Plus, pointing the brie makes each slice smaller — and who wants that? Avoid making yourself a social outcast, and enjoy every slice of brie in full, point and all.

Brie's flavor is developed through its ripening process, in which the cheese is aged for several weeks while its rind grows white mold across its entirety. The combination of aging and the presence of mold has led a lot of people to assume that brie can somehow continue to ripen and develop long after it's been opened, and that in theory it could last indefinitely in your fridge. This is far from the case. Like most foods, brie can go bad once it's been opened, and can do so surprisingly quickly. Brie's higher water content makes it more susceptible to spoilage and bacteria, making it inedible. Once you've opened brie, you likely have a week or two before it becomes unsafe or unwise to eat.

Having said this, there are a few ways to keep your brie fresh and tasty for as long as possible. The best thing to do is to keep it covered while being well-ventilated, so it doesn't build up too much moisture around it. Wrapping it in cheese or parchment paper and putting it on the middle shelf of your fridge is a good way to go.

Slicing brie is a bit of a minefield, y'all — and a lot of people get this simple action wrong, and end up cutting their brie into irregular slices. This just kinda ruins the experience for everyone, as doing this means that folks get the wrong ratio of cheese to rind, and can't properly pile their slices onto their crackers. They can also end up ripping the cheese apart if they use the wrong utensils.

The best way to slice brie is to start by thinking about how many people are eating, and how much cheese they might want. Once you've figured that out, you can cut accordingly. Don't try to cut your brie into loads of separate slices straight off the bat, as you would a pizza, as this can cause you to deform the cheese. Instead, cut out wedges one by one, spacing them out equally in accordance with how many people are eating and how much cheese they're having. Make sure you use a soft cheese knife here, which usually has holes in the side that prevent the cheese from sticking as it slices.

You know that massive wheel of brie that's always propped up at the cheese counter, practically begging to be taken home and eaten? Well as it turns out, that's not going to be the best way to spend your money. Buying a huge, thick brie might seem extravagant and fancy, but it may actually leave you with a substandard cheese that hasn't ripened properly. When brie is too thick, it's unable to ripen fully (on the inside) by the time it's ready (on the outside), and so you'll end up with an inconsistent flavor and texture.

To avoid this, look for wheels of brie that are no more than an inch thick. This gives the brie inside ample opportunity to ripen all the way through. It's also better to aim for smaller, more manageable circles of brie than pizza-sized options. While these might be impressive, you kinda have to think about how quickly you're going to get through it. If you're catering for a large group of people, a large, thin wheel might be a good option, but if you're going to take it slow, it may well spoil before you've had a chance to eat the whole thing.

Baked brie is the ultimate after-dinner treat (or before dinner, or a few hours after lunch, or any time, to be honest). However, what a lot of people don't realize is that you might be waiting longer than you think. For a quicker baked brie, break out the air fryer. Air fryers are basically stovetop ovens that cook your food more quickly, and by using yours you'll have a perfectly gooey brie in less than 20 minutes, way swifter than the half an hour it normally takes.

Air fryers are also perfectly suited to baking brie, due to their smaller size. Most air fryer baskets can fit a full brie in them pretty snugly, unlike ovens where you're putting a tiny piece of cheese into a cavernous space. This makes it a serious space and energy saver. When you're air frying your brie, though, it's always best to line your air fryer basket to reduce the risk of your cheese breaking and leaking all over your appliance. You should also check it every few minutes, to ensure that it's not overcooking or burning.

Freezing cheese can always feel like a bit of a hit-or-miss affair, and even more so when it comes to soft cheeses like brie. Surely this fresh, vibrant food can't be frozen, and doing so must ruin it, right? That's not quite the case. It's actually entirely possible to freeze brie, and you can do so either in sliced form or when it's whole. When you freeze it correctly, it can remain edible for up to three months.

However, freezing brie can be a little bit of a risky game, due to how its texture can change. Brie is high in moisture and when it's frozen that moisture can firm up and eventually evaporate, which can turn your brie from its classic soft self to something crumbly and deeply unappealing. While it's hard to entirely avoid any textural change when freezing this cheese, you can minimize it by preparing your brie properly for the freezer. Make sure you wrap it super tightly to prevent as much moisture loss as possible, and then place it in an airtight container to further limit air exposure.

Brie is usually brought out at the end of the night, when everyone needs just a few more bites of food in between sips of wine. However, when the conversation is flowing and people are having a good time, it can end up sitting there for hours on end — and contrary to popular belief, that's not the smartest thing to do. Like other soft cheeses, brie shouldn't be left out of the fridge for more than four hours. After this, it can become unsafe to eat due to being subject to bacterial spoilage.

It's also worth remembering that brie may be more susceptible to contamination by certain bacteria than lots of other foods. Brie made with raw, unpasteurized milk has a much higher chance of having Listeria bacteria, which can cause a host of nasty symptoms. The worst part is that Listeria bacteria doesn't visibly cause food to spoil, and can remain invisible until the moment that you're hunched over the toilet bowl. All the more reason for you to keep brie refrigerated and consume it within its use-by date.

With brie, it's all about the ripeness. Ripening refers to the maturation or aging process of cheese, where bacteria are added to it to develop its flavor and improve its texture. With brie, the ripening process can take a couple of weeks — but it's worth remembering that it may not always be an exact science. As such, brie can sometimes make its way to the point of purchase in an underripe or overripe state, and learning the warning signs for each will help you pick the perfect cheese.

When brie is underripe, it'll feel overly firm to the touch. Conversely, overripe brie will be overly soft, and will yield too much when you press it. Overripe brie will also begin to brown around the edges in an unappetizing way, and have a slightly rotten smell to it. If you suspect that your brie is either underripe or overripe, it's best to leave it where it is and find a ripe variety. Ripe brie will have a gently springy texture and a plump, bulbous appearance. Remember, too, that underripe brie won't continue to ripen once you get it home.

Brie is French, right? Well, yes and no. This cheese, in its current form, originates from the French region of Brie, and folks who know their cheese generally only choose varieties that are produced in accordance with the region's traditions. However, brie can be made all over the world, and American brie is pretty common, especially in the United States (as you might expect). French and American brie are not only made differently, but taste pretty different too — and so knowing what you're getting is a key consideration when you're buying it.

The biggest difference between the two is in their flavors, which largely comes down to the type of milk they use. French brie uses unpasteurized and raw milk, which retains much of its complexity and results in a nuttier result. American brie is made with pasteurized milk, which can make it safer but which may also strip it of its subtleties. Their aging processes can also differ, with American brie being aged in a factory setting and French brie being aged in caves, which can again affect its flavor. It'll also affect its price point, and French brie will generally be much more expensive — but hey, you get what you pay for.

Brie's chewy, slightly tough rind encases the soft cheese inside, and it has a different flavor to the rest of the cheese. It's also covered in mold, and this can make folks feel a little queasy about eating it — and cause them to remove it entirely before they start chomping on their brie. If you're doing that, you're doing things wrong. Your rind should always be kept on your brie, and removing it is a huge faux pas. Not only does removing the rind destabilize the cheese, but it also affects the flavor profile of the brie itself. Remember that the rind isn't harmful in any way, and it'll generally only heighten your experience of eating it.

Having said this, there is one situation where you should remove the rind: If you're cooking with brie. When adding brie to a sauce, the rind won't melt in the same way as the interior cheese, and you'll end up with chunky bits of rind swimming in your food. If you're removing your rind, though, make sure that you try to keep as much of the cheese as possible, as it can be easy to inadvertently strip it away.

Soft cheese and pregnancy generally don't mix, and as brie is a soft cheese, this presents a big problem for eating it. It can be problematic both because it's a white rind cheese and because it's made with unpasteurized milk, which makes the risk of it having Listeria bacteria much higher. While some bries can be pasteurized, this doesn't entirely eliminate the risk, and this can lead a lot of people to just completely avoid the cheese when pregnant.

While that's a smart choice, it doesn't necessarily mean that brie can never be eaten when you're pregnant. Instead, you just have to be incredibly careful. "Soft cheese that has been fully cooked — think piping hot–– is safe to consume," says registered dietitian Lesley Langville via Today's Parent. By heating the brie up to a super-hot temperature until it's steaming, you kill off any bacteria that could still be residing in it. However, it's fair to say that a lot of people will still be tentative about eating brie when pregnant, even if it's been heated thoroughly. If you're at all nervous, it's better to stay on the safe side.

Brie is delicious enough on its own, but for it to really sing, you've got to get your pairings right. Way too many people don't think about texture or flavor contrasts when eating this cheese, and instead pair it with soft bread and slicks of creamy butter. While this may still be tasty, by doing this you're essentially playing into its inherent tastes and consistency, and you should think instead about how to create dynamism using sharp, sweet flavors and crunchy textures.

There's a good reason why fruits and nuts are some of the best accompaniments for brie – they really work. Acidic fruits like berries, apples, and grapes offset the rich flavor of the cheese with bright, tart notes, and help to bolster its inherent funkiness. Meanwhile, nuts give you a fatty crunch that gives your teeth something to wrap around, with their crispness smoothed by the creamy cheese. You should also think about your wine pairings, too. A crisp white like pinot grigio provides a gentle acidity that livens up the cheese, while Merlot's deep flavors contrast its fattiness enormously well.