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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => ADJUNCT - Washed Rind & Smear Ripened => Topic started by: Work on March 08, 2008, 01:05:24 PM
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Anyone tell me what Limbuger really tases and smells like, the idea of something smelling like socks is repelling and weird at the same time.
New York Times newspaper article from 1902 that Limburger banned in Louisville Kentucky ! !
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B0DEEDE1230E733A25757C1A9659C946397D6CF (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B0DEEDE1230E733A25757C1A9659C946397D6CF)
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Is Limburger a washed rind cheese? Just wondering, as I have a recipe for a cheese in my book that is a washed rind cheese, and they advise that the smell of this cheese is less than pleasant, but that the smell from the exterior molds in no way compromised the flavours of the cheese. I have always wondered how you would get past the smell to taste it?
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Limburger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limburger_cheese#cite_note-5) cheese is in fact a washed rind cheese.
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I make a washed rind cheese, similar in allot of ways to Limburger.
Reading your comments has me tickled.
It doesn't taste like socks, you gotta try it to believe it.
I love washed rind with a passion. Its a cheese with a strong smell, and a taste that develops on the palate.
Its actually bacteria, not mould, that gives the cheese its flavour and aroma, b.linens. Wow there among the most flavoursome bacteria on the planet.
Try some and if you love strong cheese you'll adore it.
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Quinlan, welcome to the forum and thanks for the info, I did buy some b linens that is sitting in our freezer so I'll have to try making it!
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I tried some today.
I honestly went into it with an open mind.
conclusion: It is not (yet) for me.
It really smells just aweful. The taste is strong, and does resemble the smell.
The smell is akin to my tee-shirt/socks, three days after a day-long workout, if i were to leave the shirts sealed in a plastic bag, in the sun.
What a brave (or hungry) soul it was to first eat this cheese.
I tried.
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Very graffic description. i just about need a peg on my nose to get my sons gym gear into the washing machine sometimes, so this might not be for me either.
I wonder why they said that the smell was not reflected in the flavour??
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It is a very famous cheese, OK Wayne, now I need to buy and try some! I made a webpage on it here (http://cheeseforum.org/Cheese/Limburger/Limburger.htm).
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Limburger is a surface ripened cheese. Its powerful aroma comes from its rind. The surface bacteria release enzymes which breakdown/ripen the curd/cheese beneath the rind.
The bacteria which colonise the rind are called Brevitium Linens, there are about 200 species of this bacteria.
If you don't wash your feet regularly yes some of these bacteria may colonise between your toes. Hence the possibility of a similar smell, however sweaty feet carry many more noxious niffs than does the Limburger.
Its unfortunate that this smear ripened cheese suffers the smear campaign of smelling like feet. You never hear of people describing a blue cheese as smelling like mouldy bread or of Parmesan tasting like calf vomit. Its not a proper way of contrasting your food.
You need to try some, its delicious, it wouldn't be a delicacy if it tasted like feet!
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Actually I have a friend that won't eat anything that I make with "spew cheese". So yes people do refer to parmesan as vomit, much to my surprise.
So my question still stands, is the rind supposed to be cut off before eating, so do you eat it with the rind on?
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i eat as much of the rind of aged gouda as possible.
Love Beemster and Rembrandt.
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Ok maybe I'm not asking the question properly.
Limburger cheese. Do you eat the rind or not?
I too eat the rind of most cheeses, but if this one smells so bad, and you are only wanting the "effect" of the mould on the cheese and not the smell, is the rind included in the edible part of the cheese?
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I did.
Perhaps some pictures of limburger will help. This was purchased yesterday and removed from the foil wrap. There is nothing but cheese on a paper towel here.
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pBCdughHFpOfzibJWqTcwp9-r59tpDuwXpDRfpC18N6cO5q5t_GFzf7LhTNP2h0OHkWQpCUHKoa4dK8J2_xkoow/IMG_0219.jpg)
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pS4Z8deSGQojFWKQGNmDkDja8L7leINdSM8QkXJEow_2isPI68YVfacpPmjJ084Gacp_nclJODxdHyveM6Cw98Q/IMG_0220.jpg)
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pdO2wSMgPRS8jheW2ErkqMx8mxeIDZq0WZMz3pP_QBvsjXt-pFoLbVvJRuWqmT-65pzVWkvJVHRE7rUlR7fqWDA/IMG_0222.jpg)
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Ok my apologies for missing the answer. I take it that beemster and limburger and both related.
Also I thought that the rind (b. linens bacteria) was orange/red in colour and sticky to touch. The rind on that cheese doesn't look like that, so has it been washed or rub off before sale?
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Beemster has nothing to do with limburger. I misunderstood the rind question. Forget i brought up Beemster. my bad.
moving on....
This cheese, is limburger, and i ate a slice. rind and all.
not sure there is any other way.
not sure if it was washed off prior to me getting it.
There is only one limburger plant in the USA left, so i would imagine that all US limburger looks like this, right out of the package.
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Ok, so this is what I am trying to get at. Is the limburger/havarti rind, washed/removed before it is sold, just like the blue vein cheese exterior is trimmed of the excess blue mould before sale/presentation?
I just couldn't imagine handling and eating a sticky red/orange stinky rind while eating, and not being effected by the smell of the bacteria.
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Tea,
I was also tempted to try a bite of limburger a few months ago since I had never eaten a cheese I didn't care for. I figured that all I had to do was get past the smell and the cheese would be to my liking.
In a word.......WRONG
This was the most noxious thing I have ever put in my mouth (by far).
A few hours after tasting it, I could still get a "mental whiff" and would nearly gag.
The limburger I bought did have the sticky red/orange rind and the cheese itself was very soft. Nothing had been trimmed off of the cheese from what I could tell.
I just can't get past thinking that someone, somewhere had to be the first to try this stuff.
If I ever opened my cave and smelled something like this I would think "Oh darn, my cheese went bad." Never.....NEVER would I actually think about trying a bite just to be sure. :-)
Dave
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Likesspace, after that review how can I say no ;)?
Love a challenge, have asked for some from daughters for Christmas Day :o!
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You might want the girls to give you a hug and kiss before you eat the cheese. It might be the only ones you get all day :D
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LOL@Tea! That is exactly what I was thinking!
So, did you get your limburger and did you like it?
Please give us your review.
Oh, and a late Merry Christmas to you all.
Dave
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Likesspace/Tea
I got Muenster somehow we got our wires crossed ???.
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Ok, so have you tried it? What's it like?
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Okay Cheese Head, here's what you do.....
Take that Muenster out of the package......lay it out in the hot sun for about two and a half weeks......cover it with fresh horse manure for a month or so and it should turn into something like a mild limburger.
Let us know how it turns out. ;D
Dave
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ROLF Likesspace, your descriptions get better and better. I an beginning to feel compelled to find some of this cheese. :D
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Likespace forgot the required week in the diaper pail.
;)
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Hey, in that case I think I've got all the necessary requirements then. ;D
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LOL....Yes! The diaper pail might just turn it into medium Limburger!
Brilliant!!
Dave
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OK, part of daughter's bedroom painted, Camembert curds are in their hoops, 5PM, time to cut the cheese and glass of wine! Muenster that is, store bought, mass manufactured for grocery chain's own brand, even came in ziplock bag.
How was it? OK, homogeneous, orange from surface mold on outside, light OK smell, medium taste, a let down as nothing special . . . still have to get some Limburger . . .
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Cheese Head....
Muenster is actually one of my favorite cheeses. It is probably one of the best melting cheeses on the market.
If you want to try something great, take some thin slices of Muenster and make a grilled cheese sandwich out of it. The taste is fantastic.
Seriously, even though Muenster is a washed rind cheese, it is NOTHING like Limburger. Of course American Muenster is nothing at all like the original Munster. The original has been called "The poor man's Limburger" but the Muenster we buy here in the states is a very mild, nice cheese.
Limburger is really not that hard to find. If you have a Kroger's or other good supermarket near you, they should have it availble. The only advice I can give is to buy the absolute smallest piece you can find. Limburger is not an inexpensive cheese (a quarter lb. costs us about $5.00) and if your taste is like mine it will be thrown in the trash (or better yet, buried deeply in a hated neighbors yard).
Give it a try. I'm dying to hear someone else's opinion on this "delicacy".
Dave
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Buried in the neighbors yard..... That's great.
Boy, one could really really do some evil things with limburger if one was so inclined.
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Likesspace/Dave
Thanks for the support, wasn't saying Muenster was bad just stuff my wife bought me was mass production grade, I'll will try it on toast and try to buy some Limburger, but we warned, I do like stinky things and love The King of Fruits, Durian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian) 8), so my jury is still out on Limburger.
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Well I have to admit, if you can eat a durian, you probably could eat limburger!
I remember when we were driving through Jakarta, you knew long before you got there, that there was a durian stall coming up. The durian icecream wasnt too bad, but could come at the fruit.
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OK, while my folks were visiting 10 days ago I bought a small US made Limburger Cheese from local store, only one brand and size. Sorry for this delayed post.
It was wrapped in a paper label inside which was thin tin foil layer inside which the cheese was wrapped in two layers of thin wax paper.
Once open, to my surprise it got a strong reaction ;D. My folks both declined saying they had tried it before, my wife described it as "smells like a men's gym locker room or old ice hockey gear or old sweaty socks" and wanted it out of the house, and yes it is very very pungent.
The rind is very thin and the pate is soft and moist, taste is very nice, hard to describe not nearly as strong as the smell, I definitely like it ;D.
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Second set of pictures . . .
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John,
All I can say is that you have bad judgement (for trying it) and bad taste (for liking it). :D
Honestly I know there have to be some people that like this cheese or it would have gone out of existence long ago.
It is just not at all to my liking, in fact I feel like your wife. It does not belong in the house.
Maybe that should be a new rule: Limburger eating is an outdoor sport. I'm sure your wife will go along with it. :-)
Really, I just can't get past the smell. Taste is supposed to change as you get older so maybe I could learn to like it with enough time. I do know that just a few years ago the smell of blue cheese nearly made me gag. Now it is one of my favorites.
Thanks for the update. Now you need to try making some of this and let us know how it goes!
Dave
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You have to get past the smell, it's not my favorite.
John you're only going to find one brand, there is only ONE US manufacturer of Limberger. I've seen other labels but it's all from the same cheese maker.
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Ok, this is a very interesting thread. I too, like John, have to try this stuff now! Like it or hate it.. it somehow seems like some crude sort of right of passage of the cheesemaker! :)
I remember as a kid my dad had gotten this really REALLY stinky after-shave for Christmas. No-one could stand it and eventually it made its way into the working barn and used to aide in helping a cow 'adopt' a calf that was orphaned! We sprayed it on the cow and the calf and they usually found each other and were none the wiser! So if nothing else I figure I can find some other creative uses for something this stinky.
All in the name of research and development!
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Wayne, just noticed that my pictures are very similar to yours above.
Tea, Durian ice cream and Durian smoothie is also wonderful!
Carter, yes, I think it was on the Modern Marvels -Cheese TV Show that they said it used to be very very popular cheese in USA but now only one manufacturer left in US.
Dave, OK, the challenge is made, this weekend "I'm Making Waffles" . . . . oops that was from movie Shrek, I mean "I'm Making Limburger"! (My family will not be amused).
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They won't be amusing in a few weeks, it doesn't start off stinky. But thanks for taking the plunge and putting your family at risk for the rest of us.
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I bought the same brand. (not that I had a choice....)
This food should be featured on the those reality shows like "survivor" where you need to eat disgusting things.
But I do agree that the privilege of complaining about how bad this cheese's smell is should be reserved for only those that have gone out, purchased it, taken it home, opened it, and ate a FULL piece of it. And in that light, it is a right of passage, and I recommend everyone do it...
;)
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I have to admit that blue cheese is one of the few that I will flat out *not* eat.
Well... it used to be. Until I read Garret Olliver's book on pairing beer and food, wherein he raves about the pairing of "stinky cheese" and barleywine.
I have to say... I *can* eat *small* amounts of "stinky" cheese, so long as I have a good barleywine to hand. So maybe some of you braver souls could try the combo of Limburger and barleywine and report the results back here ;D
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It's really the smell, the cheese is not that bad.
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It's really the smell, the cheese is not that bad.
no, it's the taste :o
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Smell and taste are quite close in my book.
To Carters point, it *did* taste better than it smelled,
But to Stuart's point, I was burping up ass for about 2 hours after.
(my apologies if that was harsh, sometimes there is just no other way to impart a particular impression.)
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But to Stuart's point, I was burping up ass for about 2 hours after.
... :o :o :o
TMI!
:D
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Thanks guys, I'm going to try making this, be +ve!
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i'm not one to toss those words around lightly, but ever so often, you must call it like you see it.
Sorry if my post crossed a line.
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No sorry, didn't cross a line, in fact it came from a line, crack line that is ;D.
In fact I like to think like Quinlan when he said higher up in this thread in this great post of his:
Limburger is a surface ripened cheese. Its powerful aroma comes from its rind. The surface bacteria release enzymes which breakdown/ripen the curd/cheese beneath the rind.
The bacteria which colonise the rind are called Brevitium Linens, there are about 200 species of this bacteria.
If you don't wash your feet regularly yes some of these bacteria may colonise between your toes. Hence the possibility of a similar smell, however sweaty feet carry many more noxious niffs than does the Limburger.
Its unfortunate that this smear ripened cheese suffers the smear campaign of smelling like feet. You never hear of people describing a blue cheese as smelling like mouldy bread or of Parmesan tasting like calf vomit. Its not a proper way of contrasting your food.
You need to try some, its delicious, it wouldn't be a delicacy if it tasted like feet!
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Wayne, I found your comment hilarious ;D
I was seriously laughing out loud, because that's what I thought of durien!
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Cracked me up as well, Wayne.
Also, I agree that it's not only the smell, it's definately the taste.
I truly gave this cheese I try....I WANTED to like it. I just could not get past the point of wanting to gag everytime I even though about the taste in my mouth.
At least I was able to keep a straight face long enough to get my wife to try a tiny bite. I'll never forget the sound of my oldest daughter's voice screaming, "She's gonna puke!"
Even though it wasn't the nicest thing to do (as my wife was running towards the trash can) I burst out laughing. In hindsight that might not have been a good idea.
Dave
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Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, I seriously doubt that, remember that time in Tijuana and you got dysentery and I had to drag you across the border to an American hospital that takes Blue Cross, then you were burping up ass...literally.
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Teenagers taking the Limburger Challenge:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9vUY4NOfrw#hq (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9vUY4NOfrw#hq)
Making Limburger Sandwiches:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lafRVyxTzBs#hq (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lafRVyxTzBs#hq)
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I love limburger. As long as I can remember my dad was bringing home limburger and aged german brick. I feel it's something you grow accustomed to. Just be sure to wash your hands really well afterwards. Also, beware of cooking it. I like making limburger omelettes, but peewooo :'( .