What Is Triple Cream Cheese?
Triple cream cheese is defined by one thing: fat content. To qualify, a cheese must reach at least 72% butterfat in dry matter — achieved by enriching cow's milk with extra cream during production. That extra cream is what makes triple cream so different from standard Brie on the palate: denser, richer, and spreadable at room temperature almost like softened butter. The flavor leads with fresh cream and cultured butter, sometimes picking up earthy, mushroomy notes from the bloomy rind as the cheese ages. The style originated in France — Brillat-Savarin, Saint André, and Explorateur are the most recognized names — and American cheesemakers have developed strong domestic versions.
The Best French and American Triple Cream Cheeses
The two Brillat-Savarin options here anchor the French side of the collection. Brillat-Savarin is the most famous triple cream in the world — a large, pillowy Normandy wheel with a milky, buttery flavor and a paste that softens into something close to crème fraîche at room temperature. Named after the 18th-century French gastronome who wrote the defining book on the pleasure of eating, it's best served with fresh berries and a glass of Champagne. Brillat-Savarin Affiné, aged three to four weeks rather than the standard two, is noticeably more complex — mushroomy and earthy alongside the butter, made by Rodolphe Le Meunier, one of the most respected affineurs in France. Saint André is the approachable entry point — consistently creamy, reliably mild, and the triple cream most people encounter first, available here in multiple formats. Tentation de Saint-Félicien is made by hand-ladling curd into small molds near Grenoble in the French Alps — when fully ripe its interior is as silky and rich as pastry cream, with a delicate wrinkled rind and a slight mushroomy aroma. On the American side, Kunik from Nettle Meadow Farm in New York's Adirondacks combines goat's milk with Jersey cow cream for more brightness and tang than the French styles while keeping the same spreadable richness. Trillium, from Tulip Tree Creamery in Indiana — Gold at the 2021 World Cheese Awards — is buttery and silky with a mild lactic tang, as strong a domestic triple cream as any French counterpart. Bent River, from Alemar Cheese Company in Minneapolis, is a bloomy-rind cow's milk cheese with a rich, buttery flavor and mushroomy depth. For pairing guidance across all of these, the igourmet wine and cheese pairing guide covers Champagne and sparkling wine pairings in detail.
Triple Cream Brie vs. Double Cream vs. Standard Brie
Standard Brie runs around 45–50% butterfat — rich, but nothing like a triple cream brie on the palate. Double cream sits between 60–74%, noticeably creamier with a more yielding texture when ripe. Triple cream requires 72% or higher, and the difference is immediately apparent: the paste is denser, heavier, and spreadable at room temperature in a way that double cream and standard Brie simply aren't. All three use the same white bloomy rind mold, but a cheese labeled "triple cream Brie" isn't technically Brie at all — it borrows the rind style while operating at a fat content that puts it in an entirely different category. True Brie has more earthy, mushroomy rind character relative to its paste; triple cream leads with butter and cream, and the rind plays a supporting role. The Brie and white mold cheese collection covers every bloomy-rind style beyond triple cream.
Also Worth Exploring
The full soft cheese collection covers every soft-ripened and fresh style beyond triple cream. For accompaniments, jams and spreads — fig preserves, quince paste, and honey in particular — are the most natural partners for triple cream on a board.
Triple Cream Cheese: Frequently Asked Questions
Triple cream cheese is a category defined by fat content: at least 72% butterfat in dry matter, achieved by enriching cow's milk with extra cream during production. The result is noticeably richer and more spreadable than standard soft-ripened cheese — dense, buttery, and spreadable at room temperature. Triple creams have the same white bloomy rind you find on Brie and Camembert, and the flavor leads with fresh butter and cultured cream. Triple cream brie-style cheeses are often confused with traditional Brie, but the fat content difference makes them a distinct category. The style is almost entirely French in origin, associated with names like Brillat-Savarin, Saint André, and Explorateur, though American cheesemakers have developed strong domestic versions including Trillium, Kunik, and Bent River.
The most respected triple cream cheeses — French and American — include: Brillat-Savarin (Normandy, France), Brillat-Savarin Affiné by Rodolphe Le Meunier (Normandy, France), Saint André (Normandy, France), Tentation de Saint-Félicien (French Alps, France), Kunik by Nettle Meadow Farm (New York, USA), Trillium by Tulip Tree Creamery (Indiana, USA), and Bent River by Alemar Cheese Company (Minnesota, USA). Cowgirl Creamery's Mt. Tam and Four Fat Fowl's St. Stephen are also well-regarded American triple creams, though availability varies by season.
Rich, buttery, and creamy — the flavor leads with fresh cream and cultured butter, with a gentle brightness underneath. Younger triple creams taste milkier and more neutral; as the rind matures, earthier, mushroomy notes add complexity without overpowering the dairy character. The texture is as important as the flavor: at room temperature, triple cream spreads almost like softened butter, and that mouthfeel is a big part of what makes it distinctive. Kunik, made from goat's milk and Jersey cow cream, has more brightness and tang than the French styles. Trillium leads with butter and a mild lactic tang. All triple creams should be served at room temperature — cold out of the refrigerator, the fat firms up, the flavor mutes, and you lose the texture that defines the style.