Washed-rind or smear-ripened cheeses are

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During product ...

s which are periodically treated with

brine Brine is a high-concentration Solution (chemistry), solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of ...

or mold-bearing agents. This encourages the growth of certain bacteria on their surface which give them distinctive flavors. There are hard and soft washed-rind cheeses. The softer ones are sometimes distinguished as "smear-ripened". Conversely, the term "washed rind" is sometimes reserved only for the hard ones.

Production

Washed-rind cheeses are periodically cured in a solution of saltwater

or mold-bearing agents that may include beer, wine, brandy and spices, making their surfaces amenable to a class of bacteria (''

Brevibacterium linens ''Brevibacterium linens'' is a gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium. It is the type species of the family '' Brevibacteriaceae''. ''Brevibacterium linens'' is ubiquitously present on the human skin, where it causes foot odor. The familiar odor i ...

'', the reddish-orange smear bacteria) that impart pungent odors and distinctive flavors and produce a firm, flavorful rind around the cheese.Washed Rind Cheese
at Practically Edible Food Encyclopedia Washed-rind cheeses can be soft (

Limburger Limburger (in southern Dutch contexts Rommedoe, and in Belgium Herve cheese) is a cheese that originated in the Herve area of the historical Duchy of Limburg, which had its capital in Limbourg-sur-Vesdre, now in the French-speaking Belgian pr ...

), semi-hard, or hard ( Appenzeller). The same bacteria can also have some effect on cheeses that are simply ripened in

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

conditions, like Camembert. The process requires regular washings, particularly in the early stages of production, making it quite labor-intensive compared to other methods of cheese production.

Examples

Soft (smear-ripened)

Brick cheese Brick cheese is a cheese from Wisconsin, U.S., made in brick-shaped form. The color ranges from pale yellow to white, and the cheese has a sweet and mild flavor when young, and matures into a strong, ripe cheese with age. It is a medium-soft che ...

* Mondseer *

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following th ...

* Maroilles * Fontina *

Ardrahan Ardrahan () is a village in County Galway, Ireland. History Richard de Burgo conquered Galway in 1236, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today. The churchyard wall contains the remains ...

* Époisses *

Langres Langres () is a commune in northeastern France. It is a subprefecture of the department of Haute-Marne, in the region of Grand Est. History As the capital of the Romanized Gallic tribe known as the Lingones, it was called Andematunnum, then L ...

Herve Herve (; li, Herf; wa, Heve) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018 Herve had a total population of 17,598. The total area is which gives a population density of . It is famed for ...

Tilsit Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Geography ...

* Pont-l'Évêque

Hard (washed-rind)

* Gruyère * Beaufort * Appenzeller *

Oka cheese Oka is a semi-soft washed rind cheese that was originally manufactured by Trappist monks located in Oka, Quebec, Canada. The cheese is named after the town. It has a distinct flavour and aroma, and is still manufactured in Oka, although now by a ...

Bibliography

*{{cite encyclopedia, last=Gremmels , first=David, title=washed-rind cheeses, encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to Cheese, publisher=Oxford University Press, url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199330881.001.0001/acref-9780199330881-e-943, isbn=9780199330911, date=2017

Production

Examples

Soft (smear-ripened)

Hard (washed-rind)

See also

Bibliography

Notes