Like many cheese enthusiasts, I rarely make room for Brie on my cheese board. Because American regulations deny entry to the finest Bries - those made with raw milk - France ships us only pasteurized versions that often taste of little but salt.

Brie in France is another story. You can find plenty of industrial Brie there, too, of course, but a good merchant will always have a ripe Brie de Meaux or Brie de Melun - name-controlled cheeses that must be made with raw milk - to make you swoon.

Brie de Coulommiers - or Coulommiers for short - belongs to this group of distinguished French bloomy-rind cheeses, named for the village where it originated. But unlike Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun, Coulommiers is not an AOC (appellation d'origine contrôlée) cheese, so producers can make it with pasteurized milk and ship it to the United States. Despite the pasteurization, it manages to develop a compelling aroma and texture far more reliably than imported Brie.

Think of Coulommier as Brie's little sister. The recipe is nearly identical; only the format is different.

Coulommiers is a little thicker than Brie de Meaux or Brie de Melun and much smaller in diameter. A whole Coulommiers from Rouzaire, a respected French producer, weighs about 1 pound and is about 5 inches in diameter, whereas an authentic Brie de Meaux may reach 5 pounds and a good 14 inches across. Some say that Coulommiers found a following in times past because it was easier to transport to Paris, being less floppy and fragile than the more famous cheese from Meaux.

Like the other Bries you probably know, Coulommiers is a round cow's milk disk with a thin, snow-white exterior. The more mature the cheese, the more likely it is to exhibit some reddish markings on the rind. To me, that's a sign that the cheese will have full-on mushroom aromas and a supple interior.

If the rind is a pristine snowy white, with few or no markings, and if the cheese feels firm to the touch, it is probably on the youthful side. Some people prefer it that way, when its flavor is more sour cream-like and its texture is firmer throughout.

I like a more developed cheese, so I look for those gold, tan or orange striations on the rind. They indicate the presence of other surface bacteria or molds that are gradually breaking down the paste. The ideal Coulommiers, for me, has a smooth, custard-like, unctuous texture, with aromas of mushroom and aged meat. It is a hugely savory cheese with a salty finish.

Find an excuse to open a bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine with Coulommiers. A mature wheel with bigger flavor may require a bigger wine, such as a malolactic Chardonnay or a medium-weight Pinot Noir.

Look for Coulommiers at the Cheese Board in Berkeley; Sonoma Market; Sunshine Foods in St. Helena; Calmart in Calistoga; Oxbow Cheese Merchant in Napa; and Gourmet Corner in San Mateo.

Janet Fletcher teaches cheese-appreciation classes and is the author of "Cheese & Wine: A Guide to Selecting, Pairing, and Enjoying" and "The Cheese Course," both from Chronicle Books. Visit for a class schedule, or contact her at