To make a long story short (but maybe not short enough): At the Vienna Congress of 1814, the Frenchman Talleyrand proposed a cheese duel against the cheeses of other European countries and entered his beloved Brie de Meaux in the contest. He won. Brie de Meaux, hitherto unknown, became the darling of the cheese world. The end. Today Brie de Meaux is an AOC or name-controlled cheese, which means that it's subject to rigorous requirements to ensure quality. Each cheese is hand-formed, using a phenomenal 23 liters of milk, and it can only be made in certain regions of France just outside of Paris. Brie de Meaux has been made according to these exact specifications for at least a million years. That's right a million .... Just ask any Frenchman, he'll tell ya. This is a luscious cheese that should be served at room temperature with a big Bordeaux and crusty bread. It has a full earthy aroma and a rich, buttery, fungal flavor. It will cause a sensation in your mouth similar to that of licking the bottom of a freshly emptied butter churn (which, we're sure, many of you out there are familiar with). Brie de Meaux should be left at room temperature for as long as you can stand it whereupon you should eat it on a crusty baguette, or as they are referred to in some parts, a Freedom Stick.

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