Brie shows up on pretty much every catered cheese board because it’s usually mild and has a nice mouthfeel. But there’s more than Brie in the world of fuzzy-rinded cheeses! Start venturing off the beaten track–whether with a triple-cream Brillat-Savarin or a goaty Valençay. Learn how to choose a good one–not too young, not too old–and how to serve it.

(Re)sources

Enormous list of bloomy rind cheeses to explore

Annotated video of traditional Camembert production, showing you what to look for

Full text of Charlemagne story (in French)

Geotrichum: the yeast that acts like a mold

Image: Goat crottin, via Wikipedia. Sound effects from Zapsplat.com. Smooth jazz snippet is drawn from Night on the Docks via Wikimedia.