Washed Rinds and the Pungent Smell of Success

Open the door to the corner of the cave where the washed-rind cheeses age, and your nose knows it immediately. These are the pungent ones — sticky orange rinds, powerful aromas, and a flavor far mellower and more savory than the smell would ever suggest.

The technique is deliberate. Cheesemakers wash the young wheels regularly with brine, sometimes spiked with cider or spirits, encouraging particular bacteria to colonize the rind. Those microbes produce the assertive aroma and the deep, meaty, almost broth-like flavor that devotees prize. The stink, in other words, is a feature, not a flaw.

Washed rinds are a hard sell to the timid, and cheesemakers know it. Part of the craft is coaxing wary customers past the aroma to the taste, usually with a sample and a knowing smile. Those who make the leap tend to become converts, seeking out the very cheeses they once wrinkled their noses at. In the aging cave, the boldest smells often mark the boldest, most rewarding wheels.