Washed rind
Cheeses washed during aging with brine, wine, beer, or spirits — encouraging Brevibacterium linens to form an orange-pink "stinky" rind. The most divisive cheese category.
Technical description
Surface is washed (or "smeared") periodically with a liquid — typically a salt brine, sometimes with wine, beer, marc, or eau-de-vie. The moisture and salinity create conditions for Brevibacterium linens to colonize, producing the orange-pink rind, the assertive ammoniacal aroma, and the meaty, often funky flavor of the paste. Wash frequency ranges from twice weekly (Époisses) to weekly (Munster) to less frequent (Taleggio). Some cheeses are wrapped in spruce bark during aging (Vacherin Mont d'Or, Harbison) to support the paste structurally as it liquefies.
Aging parameters
Microbial environment
Brevibacterium linens (the dominant smear bacterium, gives orange-red color and meaty aroma), often accompanied by Arthrobacter, Corynebacterium, and yeasts including Debaryomyces hansenii. The wash liquid carries and transfers these communities across batches — the rind microbiome is part of the production tradition.
History
Many washed-rind cheeses originated in monastery dairies — medieval Trappist and Cistercian monks developed several of the foundational recipes, partly because of fasting rules that allowed cheese consumption when meat was forbidden. Époisses was reportedly perfected by 16th-century Cistercians in Burgundy. The "stink-cheese" category nearly went extinct in the 20th century: Époisses production stopped in WWII and was revived in 1956 by Robert Berthaut. Limburger emigrated to Wisconsin with German-speaking immigrants and is now produced mostly in the US.
Signature cheeses
- Époisses de Bourgogne AOP (washed in marc de Bourgogne)
- Munster AOP / Munster-Géromé AOP
- Reblochon AOP
- Taleggio DOP
- Vacherin Mont d'Or AOP (spruce-bark wrapped)
- Limburger
- Pont-l'Évêque AOP
- Stinking Bishop (perry-washed)
- Grayson (Meadow Creek Dairy, USA)
Key regions
AOP / DOP designations
- Époisses de Bourgogne AOP (France, 1991)
- Munster / Munster-Géromé AOP (France, 1969)
- Reblochon de Savoie AOP (France, 1958)
- Taleggio DOP (Italy, 1996)
- Vacherin Mont d'Or AOP (France, 1981)
- Pont-l'Évêque AOP (France, 1972)
- Livarot AOP (France, 1975)