What is a triple-crème cheese?

Technically speaking, a triple-crème contains at least 72% butterfat by dry weight. Note that these cheeses have a pretty high water content, so only about a third of what you are actually consuming is fat. These cheeses are made with whole milk which has been enriched with cream. Some cheese makers pooh-pooh the idea of a triple-crème, claiming that if you are starting with great milk, why disguise it with a bunch of extra cream? But triple-crèmes continue to be crowd pleasers, so where there is demand, there is a cheese. They tend to be mild, milky and luxuriously melting on the tongue.

Some triple-crème recommendations:

• Mt Tam (California) - Gorgeous little cheeses with a bloomy rind. Washed version of the same cheese is Red Hawk.
• Saint André (France). Silky and sinful, like a brie that bathes in cream.
• Sharpham Rustic (England). A delicious semi-soft triple-crème, with a more concentrated buttery flavor.

Comments

[TPC Summerlin real estate]

Wow, the sound of the name alone is enough to make a person excited. 72% of butterfat, that's a bit too much though. But it still good I bet.

Thanks for the post!