Gourmet Pungent Cheese

Browse our great selection of pungent or stinky cheeses. Some people love them, some people hate them. It’s all about getting it past your nose to experience the flavor and texture of the cheese. Many pungent cheeses have a washed-rind and if you like to pair these pungent creatures you can do that with a floral, sweet wine like a Riesling or Gewurtztraminer, a full-bodied red wine or try it with a beer, a Lambic. We dare you. Try them and let us know what you think by giving us your opinion in a product review.

We will be adding exciting new Gourmet Pungent Cheeses frequently, so come back soon!

Our Featured Gourmet Pungent Cheese
Picture of Limburger
Strictly speaking this is a Belgian, not German, cheese. It was originally made in the monasteries near Limburg in Belgium but it was adopted, and indeed largely taken over, by the German cheesemakers more than a hundred years ago. Limburg has the typically pungent aroma of a washed-rind cheese, but you will be surprised by its mild texture and taste. It seems that it is the rind that is doing all the work. If you want to have Limburger with a stronger taste to match the smell, just choose one in a more ripened stage. A creamy cheese that is mostly an acquired taste, Limburger continues to be a popular favorite and a staple for every cheeseboard. The cheese is produced in small loaves with a reddish-brown rind and a creamy colored paste. Serve with pumpernickel bread and raw onions. It is said that Limburger is the best when accompanied by a good beer. read more...
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  • Strictly speaking this is a Belgian, not German, cheese. It was originally made in the monasteries near Limburg in Belgium but it was adopted, and indeed largely taken over, by the German cheesemakers more than a hundred years ago. Limburg has the typically pungent aroma of a washed-rind cheese, but you will be surprised by its mild texture and taste. It seems that it is the rind that is doing all... read more
  • Epoisses is made in a small town in Burgundy, in France and is one of the great gourmet cheeses of France and of the world. Each gourmet cheese is covered in an edible reddish-brown coating, and underneath that coating is a creamy, soft, white interior with a daunting aroma that comes straight from the farm, often said it is a candidate for the top ten most pungent French cheeses. Epoisses is prod... read more
  • Petit Livarot is the smaller version of the Livarot which is known as 'The Colonel' because of the five strips of raffia which are wrapped round it to stop bulging. It has a glossy orange-brown washed rind which can become very dark and rustic looking. The golden paste has little holes and is soft and springy. The French gourmet Petit Livarot is clearly a cheese that cannot be missed because of th... read more
  • Chimay with Trappister beer receives a very personal preparation and maturing, resulting in an exclusive, authentic gourmet cheese. Its natural rind is bathed in Chimay Trappister beer so that its flavor flatters the palate and the nose; the rind is sticky. The Trappist monks of Scourmont have known the secrets of making cheese since 1876. Cheese was made from good milk from their farm and mature... read more
  • Taleggio D.O.P. is a soft Italian gourmet cheese that is considered a delicacy when served in dishes or when served on its own as a delightful Italian taste treat. It is a gourmet cheese of very old origins, perhaps even before the 10th century. Its regional origin was the Val Taleggio, in the province in Bergamo, from which derives the name of the cheese. Currently the area of production and ripe... read more
  • Munster Gerome is produced in an area that not only makes very pungent cheeses, but also excellent spicy wines. Its production center is the pretty village of Munster, set amid pastures and vineyards. A young Munster cheese has a thin but firm pinkish-red rind with white paste. As it matures the rind turns to a darker russet color with a deep straw-colored interior. The paste is soft and supple wi... read more
  • Grayson is a soft, finely textured cheese with a orange-brown sticky rind, a golden semi-soft paste, a pungent aroma and a rich, beefy taste with nutty overtones. Virginia's Feete family says it is reminiscent of an Italian Taleggio or a French Livarot. Grayson is made with raw milk of Jersey cows and aged longer than their Italian and French counterparts, around 60 days; no pesticides or herbicid... read more
  • Brie de Meaux is a big, round, soft gourmet French cheese, has a velvet white mold rind, which changes to a pinkish-beige during the ripening process. Brie de Meaux is one of the French 'Le Roi des Fromages' (The King of Cheeses) and comes from a particular area in the Ile-de-France near Paris. It is an ancient cheese; the oldest evidence of Brie de Meaux is found in the chronicles of Charlemagne.... read more
  • Pont l'Eveque is made in a distinctive square shape which is achieved by cutting the curds into blocks rather than into small pieces or grains. One block makes one cheese. They are drained and placed in fat square molds. After dry-salting, the cheeses are ripened in humid cellars. This pungent French gourmet cheese is still made on the farms of the Pays d'Auge in Normandy just as it has been for c... read more
  • For Vacherin lovers, l'Edel de Cleron is the next best thing. Produced in the same part of Eastern France, the French-Comte. Edel de Cleron is a luscious cow's milk cheese, wrapped with a strip of spruce bark around their perimeter to support the cheese, which is runny when ripe. L'Edel de Cleron, sometimes called faux Vacherin, is a made with pasteurized cow's milk, and has a Camembert-like bloo... read more