There are many types of stinky cheeses in the world and they all smell so bad that they make your dirty socks smell like expensive cologne. So picking the smelliest ones was no easy feat, but we’ve done it, so put on your gas-masks as we count down the top 10.
10. Taleggio
It’s not the prettiest cheese to look at but, unlike most stinky cheeses, Taleggio really doesn’t smell so bad. Appreciated for its strong taste and soft texture, this Italian cheese is becoming more and more popular on a national level and it’s even getting ready to make its debut on foreign markets.
Taleggio dates back to the 10th century, when its makers left it in caves to mature and washed it with saltwater-soaked sponges. Nowadays modern cheese-makers only reproduce the temperatures and conditions of the grottos, aware that any change could alter the final result. Taleggio has the reputation of a stinky cheese but in recent years it has lost that smelly edge as it moves into mainstream conciousness.
9. Stilton
Blue Stilton has been called the king of English cheeses on more than one occasion and if you subscribe to “the smellier the better” school, you’ll definitely want to try it. The texture of this British cheese varies from hard and crumbly to very soft, almost butter-like, depending on how mature it is. The older the cheese the softer and smellier it is.
Those of you who are in love with Stilton’s stench might want to try “Eau de Stilton”, a fragrance that captures the cheese’s smell using grapeseed oil. So far the producers have received mixed reactions regarding the fragrance but they say they’re really proud of it. They’re English after all, right?
8. Stinking Bishop
One of the oldest types of cheese in the world, Stinking Bishop dates back to the time of the Cictercian monks. It’s produced out of pasteurized Gloucestershire-cow’s milk and then washed with Stinking Bishop Pear juice, which makes the rind orange and really sticky.
Stinking Bishop matures for 6 to 8 weeks and after that it really lives up to its name. Some compare its powerful odor with old smelly socks so if you plan to buy some, go straight home before people start complaining. The smell is just in the rind though and once removed, a soft and delicious cheese is revealed.
7. Limburger
Mainly produced in Germany, Limburger is perhaps the most popular of all smelly cheeses. It is fermented using Brevibacterium linens, a bacterium partly responsible for the smell of the human body. As a result, when people say limburger smells like human feet they are scientifically correct.
If you can handle its smell long enough to have a bite you’ll realize this German delicacy is quite tasty. It has a buttery texture and nutty flavor, but to get to it you’ll have to get past the rind.
6. Roquefort
One of the most sought-after cheeses on the planet, Roquefort was banned in countries like Australia and New Zealand until a year ago. Produced out of raw sheep’s milk and matured in caves around the small village of Roquefort, Southern France, this stinky dairy product is as dangerous as it is tasty. Because the milk is not pasteurized, there is a risk of listeria infection, which can be deadly for some people and could cause pregnant women to lose their babies.
Roquefort has a very pungent odor and although it’s known as the “King of Cheeses” many people don’t even attempt to taste it. The blue mold is often a discouraging sight.
5. Brie de Meaux
Just for the record, this is not the kind of pasteurized-milk Brie that you can find on the American market. We’re talking about the original, raw cow’s milk Brie that the French love so much. It’s a very creamy cheese, covered by a thick, white mold crust which true cheese-connoisseurs say should be eaten, not thrown away.
Brie de Meaux is one of France’s most appreciated cheeses but if your nose is ammonia-sensitive you don’t want to get too close, especially if it has been left to mature too long.
4. Epoisses
One of Napoleon’s favorites, Epoisses is definitely one of the smelliest cheeses you can find. Just so you get an idea of its repulsive odor, you should know that Epoisses has been banned from public transportation vehicles all over France. It is made from raw cow’s milk and its rind is washed with pomace brandy.
Epoisses is a very smelly, runny cheese but if it starts to smell too strongly of ammonia, you should throw it away because it’s no longer edible. If it smells like someone who hasn’t showered in a week, enjoy!
3. Munster
This French cheese is often called “Monster Cheese” due to its unbearable odor. It comes from the French region of Alsace where it’s produced from raw cow’s milk and left to mature in damp cellars. Its rind is washed regularly with salted water.
Original Munster cheese shouldn’t be mistaken for the American Muenster cheese, made out of pasteurized milk. A 3 months-aged Munster is not something you want to punish your nose with; its smell has been compared to sweaty feet.
2. Camembert
Rich in chemicals like ammonia, sodium chloride and succinic acid, Camembert de Normandy smells like the secret project of a chemical company. Made from unpasteurized cow’s milk and left to mature for 3 weeks, Camembert is a soft, runny cheese normally eaten with a spoon.
Despite smelling like “God’s feet”, Camembert is France’s favorite cheese and the bestseller after Emmental. It is now a subject of a war between the small traditional producers and the country’s industrial dairies who want to use pasteurized milk instead of raw.
1. Pont l’Eveque
This smelly French delicacy is one of the oldest known types of cheese, dating back to the 13th century. To be honest, it smells like it’s that old too. This isvthe kind of food you want to keep wrapped-up in the fridge, unless you want everything else smelling like it.
If you can’t handle its pungent smell, all you have to do is get rid of the moist crust. Inside there’s a tasty delight just waiting for you to try it. Pont l’Eveque may be the smelliest cheese on our list but it’s also one of the tastiest.
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I’ve eaten all except Pont l’Eveque and Taleggio. At a dinner party last year the host presented a WHOLE round of stinking bishop!
You forgot Livarot!!! My wife and I were in Paris.
We bought some Livarot and wine for a nice afternoon picnic in the garden. After an afternoon out we came back to the room with the rest of the cheese. When we had gone out and returned from dinner the entire floor of the hotel smelled like a stable (a dirty one). We could smell it a floor away on the elevator.
Livarot is extreme and delicious.
I am French and this top-10 is just rubbish.
Pont-l-’Eveque doesn’t event smell bad, unless it’s like super super old.
The one pictured would smell just like the Brie you can buy in the supermarket in the US.
And even when it’s old, Munster or Epoisses would smell ten times worse.
What’s a silly article. Smell is relative !
Cumin’s Munster is so tasty. It’s a shame if you can’t feel the mother off all cheeses in a whole life !
And even if I don’t like Roquefort as much as Munster, I eat it a lot from age now and I’m still alive !
The odor is a matter of habit !
With the exception of Munster, I would definitely have all these cheeses on my list. I’ve never found Munster to be in any way pungent, though. I would personally replace it with Port Salut, which is similar to Epoisses and pretty darn stinky. Very yummy too….
re Camembert
“Rich in chemicals like ammonia, sodium chloride and succinic acid, Camembert de Normandy smells like the secret project of a chemical company”
Where did you fact check this? Sodium chloride is NaCl, or common table salt. Succinic acid should be found in many fermented products and is odorless. Neither of these items should add to Camembert’s odor.
About roquefort: I agree with you, our world is a world full of dangerous creatures… Roquefort is one the most deadly predators you will meet in our world… it hides in the shadows of your fridge waiting for any of your weaknesses and when you finally smell its fetid breath in your nose, it is too late… the lethal roquefort dives into your body (generally by the mouth but any opening could be used) and spreads its horrible listeria and salmonella and streptococacola that will liquify progressively your organs until you look like a giant Roqueforttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go away Go away… Roquefort is going to kill all of us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the end of the world and of the olympic games also (not a bad thing…)
Ok I stop this delirium: just to tell, Roquefort is not dangerous… as any non pasteurized product respecting the basic rules of hygiene… it is as risky as any natural product because natural means “I bring some little creatures with me”… But who do not bring some little creatures with him?
As a consequence, tell pregnant women not to eat sushis, fresh milk, meat, fruits from the tree, not to shake your hand because you badly washed it after touching the little creature(s) in your pants and also to avoid cats which can make your kid look like a N°1 Pont l’Evêque cheese…
And the most important: NEVER EAT A NON PASTEURIZED CAT… this is more dangerous than Roquefort for weak people and pregnant women and maybe youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!
best regards
Gruikman, the non pasteurized Geek
Wow?? Limburger is no 7?? I am shocked. I thought it was the nastiest around. We used to throw chunks of Limberger in peoples cars we didnt like on hot summer days and it totally ruined them.
Ricotta *Forte* ???? Smells liks sick and comes in a jar - missed odd you list. Hell, missed from your #1 posn.
You left out Livarot! It’s an incredibly stinky French soft cheese, in the same vein as Pont L’Eveque. The difference is that it’s noticeably more pungent than Pont L’Eveque when it’s ripe; however Pont L’Eveque overtakes it in overall foulness as they pass their prime.
I would certainly rate both cheeses as stinkier than the stinkiest Camembert.
You forgot to list Casu Marzu (lit. rotten cheese in Sardinian).
Brussels stink cheese is not bad either !
what about stilton
sorry i ment tilset
Thanks Gruikman, you have made the best comment ever.
There is a cheese called old ole from Denmark that I know smells much worse than any of these, and in a serious way. It has the ripe odor of used diaper but tastes great. It should be number 1. Try it if you can find it.
You forgot Jack’s favorites, Abbaye de Citeaux and Brescianella. Abbaye de Citeaux may not be not as stinky as Epoisses but far more stinky than Brie de Meaux! Brescianella definitely beats out Taleggio on the stinky scale!
http://www.forkandbottle.com/cheese/cheesefind.htm
IMHO I’d also add a few more washed rinded cheeses to the list instead of the bloomy rinds: Ardrahan or Celtic Promise or Langres or Ami du Chambertin for example. I second Aaron’s vote for Livarot - it should be on the list too!
Don’t forget about Gruyere! The stink is more subtle at the start, perhaps, but it definitely has an essence of carrion about it. I fondly call it “buzzard cheese.”
I’ve had Roquefort only once and it was on a burger and it was quite good I thought.
Don’t forget Langres cheese, it should definately be somewhere in this top 10.
I was expecting a list of cheese that are actually smelly. I’ve not sampled all of these, but Blue Stilton and Roquefort just smell nice, a great hint of the sublime taste experience to follow. Likewise for brie and camembert (unpasteurised of course).
The only disgusting cheese is the plastic stuff with a homogenous texture and the flavour of something that’s maybe been put next to some real cheese for a minute or so.
Seeing as the world is focused on China this week, I think its worth mentioning that you rarely find cheese of any kind in China. The Chinese consider cheese to be rotten milk - basically inedible. Western restaurants like Pizzahut and McD’s are now introducing the Chinese to the idea that cheese might actually taste good. Despite the fact that the Chinese refuse cheese, they eat a lot of other stuff like octopus, fish face, duck feet and eels that many Americans would find questionable.
Got some of my favorite cheeses here! The camembert pairs nicely with a honey+thyme chocolate truffle I make. Cheers, Aaron
Dating back to the time of the Cistercian monks? I hate to tell you folks, but there are lots of Cistercian monks around today, and not just in France. Try Googling, at least, before you make strange generalizations.
And to quote Chef Gareth Blackstock, *all* cheese is “gone-off milk with bugs in it”!
Where is Appenzeller? I was walking around the Swiss town with my family and thought a sewage pipe had burst. Turns out it was the cheese shop around the corner. I’ve heard it’s quite good, but I’ve never had the guts to get past the smell. Anyone else?
I think that a French Raclette rind is way stinkier than a camembert, in fact, I don’t think camembert is stinky at all. Give me a color rouge any day! Yeah, wash that rind!
Another lovely stinky cheese worth mentioning would be the Cabrales cheese from Spain!
There’s a Spanish blue cheese that comes wrapped in grape leaves that makes Roquefort smell like lavender water by comparison. It’s like eating zombie fingers.
The German Limburger cheese is just the weak version of the true Limburger cheese which is from Belgium. Especially the varian from the town of Herve (Herve Cheese) is the most stinky cheese that I know of. But still delightful, of course.
Have you ever gotten a whiff of Beer Cheese? I once bought some to take on a romantic indoor picnic not knowing how bad the smell was. When I opened it, it smelled like a dog fart! I was so embarrassed…
Funny now though. We’ve be together for almost 10 years and it’s one of our favorite stories.
You have also failed to mention the horrific smelling Rebluchon, obviously French, tastes like sunshine dust.
You missed also the maroilles and the vieux lille that are from far stinker than epoisses…
stinky cheeses …don’t like any cos they’re stink.
Picture n#1 for Roquefort is not Roquefort cheese. It is “Bleu de Bresse”, made with cow milk. Roquefort cheese has no white crust.
You are forgetting about a very stinky little cheese called “morbier.” That stuff is delicious, but so very stinky. Check it out!
First, excuse my poor english, I’m french and school is far from me now…
I Agree with com. 34, the first picture of Roquefort is in fact Bleu de Bresse, which is smoother than Roquefort (smell and taste).
The list is not bad, even if smell is personnal, but there’s a lot of cheeses you apparently don’t know. For example, as said earlier, Maroilles (north of France), Reblochon and Raclette (Savoie), are well known and smelly cheeses ! And we could also speak of regionnal typical cheeses… one example : search for “U Casgiu Merzu” on google ^^ (I’ve never tasted this, but it looks… well… tasty !)
Cheesy: “Rebluchon” doesn’t exist. You probably wanted to talk about “reblochon”, a cheese made in delimited area in French Alps, This cheese is used in “raclette”, a delicious meal from Savoy made with reblochon, potatoes, cream, onions and bacon.
Another error in the list: where did you see that camembert is eaten with a spoon? Probably not in France, where we usually eat it on bread.
camembert isn’t smelly
camembert and pont l’eveque would be very very low on my list of stinky cheese. Stilton is really sweet too. And in France pasteurized cheeses kill more people than traditional unpasteurised ones , i never heard of anyone getting salmonella from cheese.
I’d say top three as to be beer cheeses like maroilles, vieux lille, boulette d’avesnes and other vicious ones like that. Then I guess munster (especially if you have it in your car driving home from holidays) roquefort and goat’s cheeses are pretty mean
Is this in order of stinkiness or taste? If so it is wrong! If it is taste, then that is very subjective indeed, hehe.
(Forgive my poor english)
I think Brussels’ “stinkkaas” really should have it’s place in that top ten !
Emmy : Raclette is simply melted raclette cheese you eat on potatoes (you can also vary with bleu de Gex, very tasty !), I think you meant tartiflette when you told about the meal made with reblochon, potatoes, cream, onions and bacon.
All I have to say is….. Have you ever heard of Fontinella Cheese?! It’s an Italian cheese and it’s very very stinky and one of my favorite cheeses I think it should be on the list. I would say it should be number one or at least in the top three. After all it smells like stinky feet but it tastes so good especially with some red wine.
i love cheese. Cheese is stinky
Just my opinion:
The general misconception is that blue cheeses are stinky but in fact they aren’t. Some of the washed-rind cheeses are really bad (e.g. Livarot).
Herve cheese from Belgium Beats them all !
Aaron is right. Livarot should have been on the list. In my tasting experience, Livarot is without doubt stinkier than Camembert, Brie Munster & most of the blue cheeses regardless of age. I reckon, Raclette should have a place on the list as well if we are talking about foul smell here. It smells like the odour that’s coming from between one’s toes after a tennis game.
I have just come back from Normandy and bought three boxes of Pont L’Eveque - one for me, one for my sister and one for my friend. I have had them in my fridge for over a week and it was killing me! I just gave 2 of them away yesterday and my sister and friend are accusing me of being the most horrible friend ever!! My sister kept hers outside double wrapped in foil and she swears it was penetrating through to the kitchen…
Tastes great though - but would I buy it again and go through that? NO!