We noticed a foul odor in the car as we were driving home from Costco. Eww! Had somebody spilled something in the car and left it to rot under a mat or seat? Or left a pair of rotten old tennis shoes in the back? It seemed to get stronger and stronger as we got closer to home--an hour away from Costco....uff da, I think I'm gonna die.....
When we arrived home, we unloaded everything and put away the groceries; then I searched around the car for the offending item....but found nothing that could have been the source of that smell. I went back in the house, mystified. Later on I opened the fridge, only to be struck again by the appalling odor. I rummaged around. Aha....it was one of the fancy cheeses I had chosen for a Christmas eve buffet! How could that be? I spent seven dollars on that cheese, only to find out it's rotten? I popped it into the freezer....where I confess it has now lain for twelve months, as I bought this cheese a year ago. I have to waste food....but no way I can eat or serve it straight from the package....
Now don't get me wrong....I generally LIKE stinky cheese. Give me a blue cheese, a gorgonzola, praest ost, anything.....except THIS one.... I decided to look it up the cheese on the internet....
According to www.cheese.com, "the Langres is a farmhouse and unpasteurized, washed-rind cheese." Well, it's a relief to know that they at least wash it. Here are a few more details:" As the name indicates, this cheese originates from the high plains of Langres, in Champagne. The shape is unusual - a cone or cylinder with a hollow in the top. To form the hollow, the curd is turned only twice during draining. The brightly colored rind is the result of continual washing, orange bacteria grow on the surface as well as some white flora or yeast. During the maturing period which takes 5 to 6 weeks, the cheeses are placed in humid cellars. The cheeses are regularly rubbed with brine, either by hand or using a damp cloth. The cheese is notable for its pungent smoky-bacon aroma. When young, the texture is firm and grainy. With age, the rind starts to break down and becomes smooth and creamy."
What do they mean, smoky-bacon aroma? I know what smoky bacon smells like, and that ain't it! I did a little more searching. According to www.liketocook.com, the cheese has "an earthy, barnyard aroma"--which is clearly as close as you can get to saying it smells like s***, and much closer to the truth.They recommend serving the cheese in champagne. Maybe that helps with the odor, and kills the offending bacteria in the process....
So what am I going to do with this stinky cheese? I can't serve it at a buffet, plain or in champagne, the family and the company would all leave in disgust, and we have minors here! What would you do with it, to tone down the smell and the flavor? Do you have a recipe for something else with stinky cheese in it? Or do you have a better idea of what to do with a stinky cheese? And does anyone know if frozen cheese is still good after being frozen for a year??
Your advice needed!
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Comments: 65
only the French love that cheese.
Toss it.
I thought you might have bought Crotte du Diable - Devil's Crotch = smellier than anything.
Wisconsin has some good Brie now...and Camembert, stiick with typical Francaises Fromage, Bleu, Camembert, Brie.....A ton of people have trouble with even those.
I know the perfect guy! I have a friend who likes to annoy his sister. One way he does this is by refusing to open her Christmas gifts until weeks or months after Christmas. I've teased him several times and said if I were her I'd wrap some smelly cheese as his gift.
ps If it is still in the same spot in the spring, you can rest assured you were very wise in not eating it. Bury it away from a water source so as not to contaminate a well.
Then again, Limburger smells like ambrosia to my family...
LOFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Or send it to me!!!
What a funny article Alison and I enjoyed the comments too.
I don't know...lol@Rob...but sure ...trash it.
I was skimming through the cheese info and misread one word. Where it said "The cheeses are regularly rubbed with brine,", I thought it said "rubbed with URINE!"
I was thinking, NO wonder it stinks!
I think I'd call Lynne Rosetto Casper of Splendid Table on NPR. If anyone can tame that cheese, she can. Check the Splendid Table website for their hotline number.
Good luck. I love a cracker with melted brie and a dab of jalapeno jelly. Use microwave or broiler and use a cracker that is quite dry so it doesn't get soggy from the cheese as it melts. The jelly is green, like mint jelly and is sweet but with the bite of the pepper. Yum.
Remind me to stay on Rob's good side ROFL
Tanya, you just might have the solution, if the cheese will consent.
Leave it in the freezer until trash day, then take it out to the street.
Don't throw it out! It is good!
Hmm, I may need to get rid of my family in that case, Michael, lol!
I can't believe the sheer ignorance of so many people who don't know better and would throw out the cheese! Sheesh!
Limburger is wonderful. (And so is durian--if you get the reference!)
http://happypeople.gather.com/
merry christmas
First, he came up with a 10 year-old Camembert, with a rind that was hard and brown. It smelled worse than a bad football shoe. He convinced me to try a small bit with him. It was potent, and cleared the sinuses. I wasn't really interested in finishing even the small wheel.
He then had me eat some baguette and drink a half-glass of some Saint-Julien wine that he poured for free.
Palatte somewhat cleared, he came up with a bottle from a vineyard in Listrac-Medoc that was so dry, it was almost undrinkable. He made me try three sips, saying it would grow on me. It did a little, but not much.
"Now, for the amazing magic!" he said, and bade me to eat some of the horrible cheese and then drink the too dry wine, and chew them together.
I did, and together, they made the most amazing taste. It was like very hearty roast beast that had been slow cooked to the point where the fat had started to caramelize, and a potent gravy made from the stock, and poured over the whole. I know it was cheese and wine, but it tasted like a fabulous roast beast dinner, with wine overtones of fat-ripe plums and cherries.
That was one of the most interesting events of my life.
I'll bet that your stinky cheese would do the same, but you MUST find a really dry red, preferrably a Bordeaux.