Brie Cheese's Best Sauce Companions: A Delicious Guide

Brie is a soft, delectable cheese that originated in the Brie region of France. Its versatility makes it a perfect pairing for a variety of dishes, from appetisers to desserts. When melted, baked, or paired with the right ingredients, Brie can take your culinary creations to the next level. So, what sauces go well with Brie?

Brie and baguette

Choosing the Right Baguette

Select a traditional French baguette, which is known for its crisp exterior and light, airy interior. This type of bread complements the creaminess of the Brie without overwhelming its delicate flavour.

Preparing the Baguette

Slice the baguette diagonally into pieces about 1/2-inch thick. This provides a nice surface area for spreading the Brie and makes for a more elegant presentation. Lightly toast the baguette slices to enhance their texture and bring out their flavour.

Serving Suggestions for Brie and Baguette

• Simple Brie and Baguette: Spread room-temperature Brie onto the toasted baguette slices. This allows the cheese to soften and become even creamier, making it easier to spread and enjoy.
• Brie and Baguette with Honey: Drizzle a small amount of honey over the Brie-topped baguette slices. The sweetness of the honey creates a delightful contrast to the savoury cheese, enhancing the overall flavour experience.
• Brie, Baguette, and Fruit: Pair the Brie and baguette with fresh fruit, such as sliced apples, grapes, or pears. These cool fruits complement the richness of the Brie, providing a refreshing contrast. You can also try more unconventional options like figs, avocado, kiwi, cantaloupe, or berries for a modern twist.
• Brie, Baguette, and Jam: Explore different jam pairings with your Brie and baguette. Traditional options like apricot, fig, or strawberry jam can add a delightful touch of sweetness. However, feel free to experiment with other varieties like blueberry or cranberry jam for unique flavour profiles.
• Brie, Baguette, and Nuts: Incorporate toasted pecans or candied walnuts into your Brie and baguette pairing. The sweet and salty combination of nuts and Brie creates a complex and satisfying flavour profile. You can offer a variety of nuts on the side, allowing guests to customise their own nutty experience.

Remember, when serving Brie and baguette, it's essential to let the cheese be the star of the show. Keep other flavours and ingredients simple and complementary, enhancing the creamy, nutty goodness of the Brie.

Brie with crackers

Choosing the Right Crackers

It is essential to select sturdy crackers that can withstand the weight and richness of brie without breaking. Avoid thin, delicate crackers or chips and opt for crackers with a satisfying crunch. Multigrain or herbed crackers can add texture and subtle flavours to complement the brie. Melba crackers, with their toast-like crunch, can also accommodate a generous spread of brie. For a classic French option, a French baguette sliced into thin pieces can serve as the perfect crusty canvas for the creamy cheese.

Enhancing the Flavour

While brie is delicious on its own, you can enhance its flavour by adding a simple drizzle of honey or maple syrup. The sweetness of honey or maple syrup pairs beautifully with the savoury, nutty notes of the brie. Additionally, consider topping the brie with toasted pecans or candied walnuts to add a sweet-and-salty contrast that will delight your taste buds. For a touch of spice, sprinkle some jalapeno bits or a spicy sauce over the brie before serving.

Fruit and Nut Crackers

For a more sophisticated option, homemade fruit and nut crackers can be the perfect complement to brie. The combination of sweet and salty flavours from the crackers, along with the creamy brie, creates a delightful sensory experience. If you're looking for a simpler option, pairing brie with fresh fruits like apples, grapes, pears, figs, or berries can also be a refreshing and tasty choice.

Presentation Tips

When serving brie with crackers, presentation is key. Place the brie on a platter and surround it with a variety of crackers and accompaniments. For a touch of colour and freshness, add a bunch of grapes to the platter—the combination of fruit and cheese is classic and visually appealing. If you want to enjoy warm, melted brie, you can bake it in the oven for 15 minutes or microwave it for 2 minutes before transferring it to the serving plate.

Brie with fruits

Brie is a soft, mild, and slightly salty cheese that pairs well with acidic and sweet flavours. Fruits are a fantastic complement to baked brie, offering a beautiful presentation, a delightful texture, and a tasty flavour combination.

Baked Brie with Berries

A baked brie topped with a berry compote is a fantastic festive appetiser and a wonderful centrepiece for a cheeseboard. The berry compote can be made with frozen mixed berries and sugar, cooked until thickened, and served with toasted baguette slices.

Baked Brie with Stone Fruits

For a summery take on baked brie, try topping it with stone fruits like peaches and blackberries. You can cook the peaches in butter until tender, then add brown sugar and apple juice to create a sweet sauce. Add the blackberries at the end and stir until they are warm. This fruit mixture can be made ahead of time and rewarmed before serving.

Baked Brie with Apples and Pears

In the winter, baked brie can be paired with apples and pears. You can follow a similar recipe as the stone fruit version, cooking the apples or pears in butter with brown sugar and apple juice. This creates a delicious sauce that complements the creamy brie.

Nuts and Crackers

Toasted walnuts, pecans, almonds, or macadamia nuts can be sprinkled on top of the brie and fruit for added flavour and crunch. The toasted walnuts can be made in the microwave or oven and served with crackers and bread.

Brie with nuts

Baked brie with nuts is a popular and easy-to-make appetiser. The soft, creamy cheese is baked in the oven and served with a variety of toppings and dips.

Nuts

Walnuts and pecans are the most popular nut choices for brie toppings. However, other nuts such as pistachios, almonds, and hazelnuts can also be used.

Toppings

Honey is a classic choice to top baked brie with nuts. It can be drizzled over the cheese and nuts, or mixed with the nuts before baking. Other sweet alternatives to honey include maple syrup, agave syrup, and jams such as fig, apricot, or orange marmalade. Cinnamon can also be added to the honey and nut mixture for extra flavour.

Dips

Baked brie with nuts can be served with crackers, bread slices, pita, apples, grapes, or celery.

Tips

• The rind of the brie is edible and can be kept on during baking to hold the cheese together. However, some people prefer to remove it before serving as it can be hard to scoop up the cheese with the rind attached.
• A wheel of brie is recommended for a more impressive presentation, but a wedge can also be used.
• Be careful not to overcook the brie as it can quickly re-harden.
• Let the baked brie sit for a few minutes after removing it from the oven to allow the cheese to settle and cool slightly.
• Baked brie is best served warm, straight out of the oven.

Baked brie

Ingredients and Preparation

The key to a good baked brie is to use a cold wheel of cheese straight from the refrigerator. An 8-ounce wheel is a standard size, but you can also use a larger or smaller one, depending on the number of people you are serving. It is also important to line your baking sheet or dish with parchment paper, as this will make it easier to transfer the delicate baked cheese to a serving platter without it falling apart.

Preheat your oven to 350°F and bake the brie for 8 to 10 minutes, or up to 20 minutes for a larger wheel, until it is soft in the middle. You can also microwave a wheel of brie for 2 minutes in 30-second increments if you are short on time.

Toppings and Sides

The beauty of baked brie is that you can customise it with a variety of toppings and sides to suit your taste. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Sweet spreads: Honey, maple syrup, jam (especially cherry or fig), cranberry sauce, or even a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
• Nuts: Toasted pecans, walnuts, pistachios, or pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for a nut-free option.
• Fruits: Fresh grapes or apple slices provide a delicious contrast to the rich cheese.
• Herbs: Fresh thyme or rosemary sprigs add a savoury touch.
• Other savoury options: Caramelised onions, baked apples, or a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.

Serving Suggestions

For a more substantial dish, try making a mac and cheese sauce using brie as the base and serving it in the scooped-out brie rind. Simply melt the brie in a pan, add heavy cream, and shredded cheddar and/or Parmesan cheese, and stir until smooth. Toss with cooked pasta and garnish with chives.

So, there you have it! Baked brie is a versatile and indulgent dish that is sure to impress your guests or satisfy your own cheese cravings. Enjoy the gooey, cheesy goodness!

Frequently asked questions