Stinking Bishop is an award-winning artisanal cheese. Among these accolades is “smelliest cheese in Britain.” Though it has a subtle, nutty flavor, the Gloucestershire specialty is most famous for its strong aroma, which has been described as putrid and evocative of a rugby team’s locker room.
Stinking Bishop gets its distinct odor from soaking in perry, a type of pear cider, as it ripens.Oddly, it’s the pear in this cider, a local Gloucestershire variety, that’s the source of the cheese’s name. The Stinking Bishop pear was named after a farmer who lived in the area from 1847 to 1919. Frederick Bishop was, by all accounts, a terrible man who liked drinking as much as he disliked bathing. The drunk farmer’s foul reputation earned him, as well as the pears on his property, the nickname Stinking Bishop.
It wasn’t until the late 20th century that the oddly named pear crossed paths with an endangered breed of cow. In 1972, dairy farmer Charles Martell bought some of the last remaining Old Gloucester cows, and put them to work producing milk for cheese. After discovering that hisland had once been farmed by Cistercian monks, Martell decided to use the 17th-century monastic technique of washing his cheese rinds. His liquid of choice was, of course, pear cider.
So via monks, drunks, cows, and pear trees, Stinking Bishop was born. It has always remained an artisanal cheese that’s not available in your average supermarket, but its reputation sky-rocketed thanks to the 2005 stop-motion filmWallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. In the movie,Gromit uses the pungent cheese to revive his friend.
A few years later, Stinking Bishop was officially named the smelliest cheese in Britain, further cementing its position as one of the most well-known British cheeses, no small feat for a craft cheese that the majority of Brits have never tried.
FAQs
Stinking Bishop is an award-winning artisanal cheese. Among these accolades is “smelliest cheese in Britain.” Though it has a subtle, nutty flavor, the Gloucestershire specialty is most famous for its strong aroma, which has been described as putrid and evocative of a rugby team's locker room.
What is the smelliest cheese in the UK? ›
Stinking Bishop is one of Britain's most famous cheeses at the moment and is becoming an English institution. It has been voted 'Britain's smelliest cheese' and while it is strong, it's actually not overly so, especially to the taste.
What is the smelly English cheese? ›
Stinking Bishop
It took first place in a contest to determine England's funkiest-smelling cheese, with judges describing it as smelling like “a rugby club changing room.”
What is the most smelliest cheese in the world? ›
Vieux Boulogne, France
During production, the pre-salted, square-shaped cheese is washed with beer, which develops its characteristic wet earth and rotting leaves odor. Vieux Boulogne's stench is so strong, the cheese has been scientifically proven to be the world's smelliest (on multiple occasions).
What is a pungent English cheese? ›
Stinking Bishop is the very definition of unctuous! It is soft, gooey, sticky and incredibly pungent. It more than lives up to its name and it can hold its own against any continental washed rinded cheese.
What is the strong smelling English cheese? ›
Stilton (Protected Designation of Origin) – English cheese, produced in two varieties: the blue variety is known for its characteristic strong smell and taste.
What is the stinky German cheese? ›
Limburger is a semi-soft, washed-rind cheese that originated in the historical Duchy of Limburg, now divided into three countries; Germany, Belgium and Netherlands. The cheese is popularly known for its stinky aroma, which has been compared to foot odour.
What is the stinky cheese in the US? ›
Fortunately, stinky cheese has a bark that's way worse than its bite. If you can get past its aroma, the taste of a stinky cheese can be wonderfully nutty, woodsy, and complex. Whether it's Montague, Liederkranz®, or the notorious limburger, you'll find your fill of stinky cheese in Wisconsin.
What is the Irish smelly cheese? ›
Often enjoyed by adventurous cheese lovers, stinky and washed rind cheeses get their pungent flavor and colorful rind from regular washing in a salt solution—or with beer, wine, or spirits— during the aging process. The tradition started in medieval times to keep wheels fresh.
What is the weird English cheese? ›
Ticklemore. You can always recognize Ticklemore in the cheese shop because of the unusual dimpled rind.
If a mild cheese, like Monterey Jack or American, smells strong, like blue cheese or Limburger, then it's time to throw it away. Cheeses that are naturally pungent, like a blue cheese or Camembert, will have a strong ammonia smell to them once they go bad, similar to cat urine.
What is the smelliest cheese in Europe? ›
1. Vieux-Boulogne – Scientifically proven to be the smelliest cheese in the world, this pungent offering comes from Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France.
What is the stinky cheese for a charcuterie board? ›
Stinky Cheeses
We love a Saint Agur cheese in my family, which is rich, creamy and quite soft. We also love a Stilton, which is much more solid with a lovely crumbly texture. Another gorgeous variety is Blue Brie, which has a rind like a Brie but has veins of blue running through the cheese.
What is the smelly British cheese? ›
Stinking Bishop: The name says it all. Stinking Bishop is an award-winning washed-rind cheese fermented in pear juice, or perry, creating an orange rind and a sticky surface. Named after the Stinking Bishop pear variety from England, this cheese has a sticky orange rind and is runny at room temperature.
What is the famous cheese in England? ›
The most popular cheese in the UK is cheddar, which accounts for about half of sales. It's named after the Cheddar Gorge caves in Somerset where it used to be stored to ripen.
What is the strongest English cheese? ›
Smooth and creamy Mature Cheddar at 2 and a half years old this Cheddar cheese has a depth of flavour and tang.
Is brie de meaux stinky? ›
Brie de Meaux is a French cheese that offers a delightful contrast between its creamy interior and its pungent aroma. While the cheese itself is soft, smooth, and mild, its rind emits a strong earthy scent. This aroma is a result of the cheese's unique production process, which includes ripening in underground cellars.
What is the most expensive British cheese? ›
GORAU GLAS – $20 TO $40 PER POUND
This won a Gold British Cheese award in 2002 and was acknowledged as the priciest British cheese out there. It's a soft, small batch blue that is made using a labor-intensive process in Wales.
What is the most popular UK cheese? ›
There are more than 700 named British cheeses produced in the UK. From Cheddar to Cheshire, Brie to Stilton, there are very few cheeses that are not made within the British Isles. The most popular cheese in the UK is cheddar, which accounts for about half of sales.
