Hidden Life of a Cheese Cave: Where Your Brie Comes From
The Secret World Beneath Our Cheese Boards
Think you know where your creamy Brie comes from? Think again. Deep beneath our feet lies a fascinating microbial universe that’s been quietly transforming fresh dairy protein into the complex, funky cheeses we love. These aren’t your typical caves filled with stalactites and bats – these are carefully controlled environments where cheese is very much alive and constantly evolving. While most people imagine cheese simply sitting on a shelf somewhere, the reality is far more intriguing. Your favorite wheel of Brie has spent weeks or months in conditions so precise that high humidity, usually above 90 percent and cave or cellar temp which is usually somewhere around 50 degrees are maintained around the clock.
What Exactly Is a Cheese Cave?
A cheese cave isn’t necessarily carved from rock, though some actually are. The room for aging cheese is called une cave in French, or cellar, and although cheese may be aged in a cave, it may also be matured in an abandoned railway tunnel, a trailer or just a really high-tech walk-in refrigerator. The key isn’t the location – it’s the environment. What matters is that humidity, temperature and air movement can be precisely regulated in order to control bacteria and mold growth. Some of the most famous cheese caves are literally underground, like traditional cheese cave in France (part of the caves of St. Julien in the Auvergne) used to age St. Nectaire cheese. The cheese caves are hundreds of years old and dug out of volcanic rock. But modern operations often use sophisticated refrigeration systems that mimic these ancient conditions with scientific precision.
The Perfect Storm of Temperature and Humidity
Creating the ideal cheese cave environment is like conducting a delicate orchestra of atmospheric conditions. Most cheeses age at somewhere around 50 or 55 degrees, with a relative humidity of anywhere from 70% to 90%. This might sound simple, but maintaining these conditions consistently is incredibly challenging. These conditions aren’t common in the average kitchen or refrigerator, so cheese fans who want to age their own wheels at home have to create them. The temperature range is crucial because it’s warm enough to allow beneficial microbes to work their magic, but cool enough to prevent harmful bacteria from taking over. Think of it like Goldilocks – everything has to be just right.
The Invisible Workers: Microbes That Make the Magic
Here’s where things get truly fascinating. Cheese is one of the few foods we eat that contains extraordinarily high numbers of living, metabolizing microbes, leading some participants to say, “Cheese is alive!” These aren’t just any random bacteria – they’re carefully curated communities of microorganisms. Keeping the cheeses in a controlled environment allows the right microbes to work their magic (also called microbiology) on the proteins and other components of the wheel. Affinage requires a deep working knowledge of bacteria, molds and yeast strains and the ability to encourage the growth of some, while slowing or stopping others. It’s like having an invisible workforce that never sleeps, constantly breaking down proteins and transforming the cheese from the inside out.
How Brie Gets Its Signature White Coat
That beautiful white, fuzzy rind on your Brie isn’t just for show – it’s a living, breathing organism doing important work. The cheese is then taken out of the moulds, salted, inoculated with cheese culture (Penicillium camemberti or Brevibacterium linens), and aged in a controlled environment for at least four or five weeks. The white mold that develops is actually Penicillium candidum – forms a white rind that contributes to the cheese’s overall flavor and significantly alters its texture. This mold works from the outside in, slowly breaking down the interior of the cheese and creating that creamy, gooey texture we associate with perfect Brie. It’s essentially digesting the cheese for us, making it more delicious in the process.
The Careful Dance of Aging
Aging cheese isn’t a passive process – it requires constant attention and care. In professional cheese caves, workers regularly turn, wash, and monitor each wheel. Some cheeses are aged externally, meaning bacteria and mold cultures on the surface of the cheese age it “from the outside in.” Others age internally, meaning cultures directly inside the cheese age it “from the inside out.” With externally ripened cheeses, “mold or bacteria that cover the surface of the cheese digest their food by breaking down proteins and fats with enzymes”. This process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several years, depending on the desired flavor profile. Think of cheese aging like wine – the longer it ages under proper conditions, the more complex and interesting it becomes.
The Science Behind the Stink
Ever wondered why some cheeses smell so intense? It’s all about the microbial communities at work. Washed rind cheeses, such as Epoisses and Limburger, are regularly washed with a brine solution during the aging process. This creates a moist, salty environment on the surface of the cheese in which certain species of fungi and bacteria thrive. These microorganisms produce volatile compounds that create those characteristic strong aromas. While Brie isn’t a washed rind cheese, it still develops its own unique bouquet of scents as the Penicillium works its way through the wheel. The “funk” in cheese isn’t a sign of spoilage – it’s a sign of successful fermentation.
Different Caves for Different Cheeses
Not all cheese caves are created equal. Professional operations often have multiple caves with different conditions for different types of cheese. In the bloomy cave, cheeses like brie, camembert, Brillat Savarin and Humboldt Fog develop downy white rinds. Meanwhile, other caves might be designed for washed rinds, natural rinds, or blue cheeses. Each type requires its own specific combination of temperature, humidity, and air circulation. Each style of cheese, depending on the rind, is going to have different specifics, and some of them have staged aging, where you move them between caves, or otherwise change the environment. It’s like having different neighborhoods in a city, each with its own character and residents.
The Art of the Affineur
The people who manage cheese caves are called affineurs, and they’re part scientist, part artist. “Affinage is simply the art of aging cheese,” explains Josh Windsor, Affineur for Murray’s Cave Aged program in Long Island City, New York. “It can be as simple as just putting cheese in a plastic bag, vacuum sealing it, putting it on a shelf, and letting it age out to the profile you want, or as complicated as introducing 16 different techniques to prime the surface of the cheese.” These experts understand how to manipulate the environment to coax specific flavors and textures from each wheel. They can tell by smell, touch, and appearance when a cheese is ready, or when it needs more time to develop.
From Fresh Curds to Complex Flavors
The transformation that happens in a cheese cave is nothing short of miraculous. According to Windsor, there is little difference at the beginning of the cheesemaking process between that which will become blue cheese, and that which will become brie: “(Before affinage,) you basically have a bunch of dairy protein and fat that is salty, because you salt it, and it’s sour, because you acidify it. And there’s not a lot else,” he explains. It is affinage, through the choices, actions, and inactions of the affineur where the particular, transformative alchemy occurs. This means that the cave environment and the skilled hands managing it are what turn boring dairy protein into the complex, nuanced cheeses we love. It’s like the difference between a blank canvas and a masterpiece.
The Role of Terroir in Cheese Caves
Just like wine, cheese can express the character of its environment – what the French call terroir. Cheeses here are encouraged to express the microbes present in the cheese as well as those present in the cave, which means it takes on a unique Long Island City terroir. These cheeses are an expression of place in terms of both the cheese’s origin and its time spent in the caves at Murray’s. This means that even if you use the same recipe and the same milk, aging cheese in different caves will produce different results. This is where a cheese takes on its so-called “terroir”. Microbes native to the milk will be carried over to the cheese and as cheese is being made and as it is being aged there are many ambient organisms that weasel themselves in. Each cave develops its own unique microbial fingerprint over time.
The Timeline of Transformation
So how long does it actually take to create that perfect wheel of Brie? The cheese is then taken out of the moulds, salted, inoculated with cheese culture (Penicillium camemberti or Brevibacterium linens), and aged in a controlled environment for at least four or five weeks. If left to mature for longer, typically several months to a year, the cheese becomes stronger in flavour and taste, the pâte drier and darker, and the rind also darker and crumbly. The minimum aging time for Brie is about a month, but many producers age their wheels longer for more complex flavors. During this time, the cheese is constantly changing as enzymes break down proteins and the mold rind develops. It’s a living process that can’t be rushed.
Modern Cheese Caves vs. Ancient Ones
While traditional caves carved from rock still exist and are prized for their natural stability, modern cheese caves often rely on technology to create perfect conditions. Murray’s caves are fancy, giant, high-tech refrigerators where thousands of wheels of cheese mature in the ideal environment. These are specifically calibrated so that temperature, humidity and microbial activity can all be controlled and monitored with the greatest precision. These high-tech caves can achieve consistency that would be impossible in natural caves, where seasonal variations might affect the aging process. However, many cheese makers believe that the natural fluctuations in traditional caves add character and complexity to the final product.
