Welcome to the France 44 Cheesecutter! Every month, we will aim to explore a new area of cheese and provide our opinions and recommendations. We want to help you decide month by month which cheese is best to melt on your grilled cheese, which soft cheese is best to take with you on a picnic, and which stinky cheese pairs best with that bottle of bubbly in your fridge.
When a cheese is a “washed rind”, we mean that the cheese itself gets washed in either a salt water brine or an alcohol solution during its ripening process. Depending on what the wash is made of, it will encourage the growth of specific bacteria. This bacteria gives the cheese its famous odor as well as a meaty, umami taste. Some cheese gets washed more often than others, though, and that can result in a more or less intense cheese. If you’re interested in trying a washed rind, but typically aren’t a fan of stinky cheeses, then you might enjoy a lightly washed rind instead of a cheese which has been washed throughout the entire cheesemaking process.
Washed rind cheese have a special place in my heart, my personal favorite cheese is the incredibly stinky epoisses and it’s become an annual tradition to get myself a wheel for my birthday every year. While it took a while for me to warm up to intense cheeses like the ones I talk about in this article, once I did, it became a bit of a pandora’s box for me. There are endless different types of washed rinds to try with different textures and tasting notes and accompaniments.
So although it might not be the cheese category for everyone, I implore you to do a bit of exploring if you’re feeling adventurous. Behind the stinky front, you may find the perfect gooey cheese for you.
What to Consider:
- Texture: Washed rind cheeses are often thought of as gooey and runny, but they come in a variety of textures. Are you looking for something soft, semi-firm, or crumbly?
- Funk: The wash of the rind can give the cheese a subtle umami flavor or it can turn it into a pungent power house based on the type of wash and how often it’s washed.
- Flavor: Cows’ milk cheeses lean sweet and creamy, goat cheese can be tangy and lighter, and sheep milk cheese is typically rich and buttery.
- Feeling: What kind of feeling do you want to have when you eat this cheese? Are you looking for something romantic, feeling adventurous, or are you searching for something comforting and nostalgic?
Fabulously Funky: Epoisses
Starting off strong, epoisses is the stinkiest option on this list. It’s washed continuously throughout its ripening process in a mix of salt water and a French grape spirit. Epoisses has an unmistakebly meat-y flavor with an unctuous, gooey texture. Let it come up to room temperature and drip it over fresh baguette and enjoy it with a Pinot Noir to balance out it’s intense funk.
Ready for Romance: l’Affiné au Chablis
Washed weekly in Chablis white wine and the perfect size to share, l’Affiné au Chablis has a much more approachable level of funk than some of its washed rind brethren. Despite being a washed rind cheese, it contains floral and citrus notes that would pair fantastically with clover honey. As for a paired beverage, you can’t go wrong with a bottle of its namesake Chablis or a bright and funky sour.
Made to Melt: Willoughby
Willoughby is a fabulously creamy domestic washed rind from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont. The gooey paste of the cheese has a freshness with notes of onion and celery to it which contrasts very nicely with the umami flavor of the rind. Eating the rind and paste together and room temperature creates a flavor profile that feels incredibly comforting and reminiscent of chicken noodle soup. Eat as is or melt this cheese in a small cast-iron pan and dip bread, cornichons, and any other goodies you like.
Out of the Box
Sunny Ridge: Sunny Ridge is a semi-firm, beer washed goat cheese. This lovely cheese shattered a lot of the preconceived notions I had about washed rind cheeses. Before trying it, when I thought of washed rinds; I exclusively thought of creamy, heavy, meat-y cheeses like epoisses. But the combination of the tangy goat cheese and funky sour beer, creates a bright and musky cheese that feels perfect for enjoying on the porch with a beer in spring.
Alex: While most of the washed rind cheeses in this article fall on the gooey side of the texture spectrum, there are some firmer washed rind cheeses such as Alex. This cheese is a German alpine style that is washed in a mixture of Elderflower cordial and herbs in the final couple months of aging. The result is a nutty, onion-y cheese with a fruity, chocolate-y finish due to the wash.
