Washed-Rind

Washed-rind cheese is often smelly, and can have an elastic consistency.

“The high moisture of the curd and the humidity of the maturing rooms attracts a bitter-tasting, grey, hairy mould called ‘cat fur’.  To discourage this, the newly formed cheese is rubbed with or dunked in baths of salty water, wine or a similar alcoholic liquid.”

“This produces a rather robust cheese and encourages the development of orange, sticky bacteria that help to break down the curd from the outside, gradually becoming an integral part of the interior, rather than just a skin.”

“The strong, pungent washed-rind cheese respond well to beer.  If you serve wine, make it a spicy Gewurztraminer or a robust red.”

– The World Encyclopedia of Cheese, Hermes House, 2010.