What makes a washed rind cheese? That they are washed with either a brine-y liquid, wine, beer, or other liquors -- deepening the flavor profile of the cheese in unique and dynamic ways.
Hailing from the New Yorker's summer destination of the Hamptons, more specifically Bridgehampton, Mecox Sunrise is our New Yorker this week. Crafted by a family run creamery, Mecox Bay Dairy, this cheese is composed completely of cow's milk and aged for two to four months and washed with a brine based solution. The brine washing gives way to its namesake orange-y rind. It is everything you want in a washed rind cheese -- pungent, biting and farmsteady with a nice nutty grassy creamy paste. Full of the terroir? Yes! Intense? Yes! For the faint of heart? No! This fabulously fantastic cheese would be perfect with a nice glass of Riesling.
Image courtesy of www.mecoxbaydairy.com
What is our washed rind cheese from across the pond?
It is the aptly named Stinking Bishop, hailing from Gloucestershire, in the Southwestern region of England. Produced since 1972 by Charles Martell, it has somewhat of a similar set of characteristics as say a Munster style cheese but totally its own entity. The name Stinking Bishop comes from the pear liquor (perry) utilized to wash the exterior of this cheese that is made up of stinking bishop pears. Aged for approximately two months, unlike Mecox Sunrise, Stinking Bishop is a semi-soft cheese crafted with cow's milk. It has a very strong nose and will announce its presence that's for sure! On the tongue, it has faintly sweet fruity floral notes with a nice balance of farmsteady washed rind classic moments. It had its ten minutes in the spotlight when it was utilized to revive Wallace from the dead in the 2005 film, Wallace and Gromit : The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Sales and demand for the cheese increased 500%. So what to pair it with? A nice glass of Chardonnay!
Image courtesy of en.wikipedia.org
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