A good brie should have a soft, creamy centre and a melt-in-your-mouth taste. This wasn’t the case with most of the bries our panel tasted.
None were outstanding but these four were the best of the bunch: Kaimai Brie, Longbush Brie, Ornelle Brie and Waimata Gold Brie.
The rest only managed a “fair” or “below average” rating. Rather than being soft and creamy, our panel found the worst bries were “rubbery” and “bland”. Unfortunately, when you’re buying a pre-packaged brie you can’t tell much about its quality until you get home and cut into it.
Panel member and expert cheese maker, Neil Willman, says bries sold in supermarkets are often made to have a longer shelf-life than would be normal for this cheese. Generally, brie is ready to eat four or five weeks after packing. But you can find brie in supermarkets that has been around a lot longer. This can affect the quality.
Guide to the table
- Products are listed in alphabetical order within categories. All products were bought in Wellington supermarkets between 15 and 18 May 2009.
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