Stinking Bishop

Gloucester, England Pasteurised Cow's Milk

Stinking Bishop is a washed rind cheese made by Charles Martell and family using Gloucester cow's milk. The cheese shares several similarities with French cheeses, such as Epoisses and Vacherin.  The curds are not drained or milled, ladled directly into the moulds in order to retain moisture and encourage bacterial activity.  Salting takes place when the cheeses are turned out of the moulds and then wrapped in a bark collar (in this case beechwood), again like Vacherin.  The cheeses are then washed in perry, made using the Stinking Bishop pear.

The resulting cheese has a pungent, sticky rind and a pleasingly oozy centre, which is slightly sweet and fruity from the perry and typically meaty, like most washed rinds.