There was a time when you couldn't go to a holiday party without finding brie at the center of the appetizer table, its soft, chalky essence oozing slightly on the platter filled with crisp toast and dried figs.
Yet, in recent years it has disappeared, its place taken by hard Spanish or Dutch cheeses, edged out by veiny domestic blues and aged white cheddars.
I'm here to tell you brie is back, reclaiming its throne as the King of Cheeses.
Royal rind
Culinary legend has it that in 1815 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, diplomats discussing the reorganization of Europe got into a friendly competition about cheese and which country could claim the best cheese in the world. A French statesman put a wheel of Brie de Meaux before the diners and it was crowned the king of cheese.
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