17 Top Stinky Cheeses

Do you enjoy notes of body odor and dirty socks with hints of sour laundry and barnyard with your comestibles? If so, this is the list for you.

First, let's explore why some cheeses stink. Although many varieties may have a bit of pungency about them, the washed-rind family takes top honors in the stinky cheese division. During the aging process, the rinds of these cheeses are rinsed—with anything from brine to brandy, including wine, beer, and even pear cider—to inhibit mold and encourage the growth of friendly bacteria. The bacteria Brevibacterium linens gives the rind its aroma; it just so happens that B. linens is also the very same bacteria responsible for making feet stink.

Fortunately, although some pungency permeates the cheese itself, most remains in the rind, leaving a soft-ripened or semi-firm cheese within that is usually milder in flavor than a pair of fetid feet.

The cheeses on this list, including Camembert, Livarot Munster, and the cleverly named Stinking Bishop, are made with time-tested methods. These stinky cheeses are poster children for the sustainability movement known as slow food. The opposite of junk food and American-style "cheese products," these malodorous beauties generally have a long cultural tradition behind them, are crafted with care, and are something to be savored.

In the who's who of stinky cheeses, the following washed-rind varieties rank among the world's most malodorous.

1. Camembert

One of France's more famous cheeses, Camembert, was first made from raw cow's milk. The AOC variety "Camembert de Normandie" is required by law to be made only with unpasteurized milk, but unpasteurized Camembert is getting harder and harder to come by. Known for its strong mushroom notes, one cheese columnist described an authentic Camembert as having "hints of garlic, barnyard and ripe laundry."

2. Ami Du Chambertin

Made from unpasteurized cow's milk in the Gevrey-Chambertin area of Burgundy, the rind is washed with Marc de Bourgogne brandy, and the smell hovers somewhere between barnyard and "putrid," ... but the flavor is of grassy butter and cream.

3. Epoisses de Bourgogne

Jacques Hennart produces this cow’s milk cheese in the village of Epoisses, France, commonly called simply Epoisses. Also rinsed in Marc de Bourgogne brandy, Epoisses is famous for its stink (so stinky that it is banned from the Parisian public transportation system) and sweet, salty flavor.

4. Fiance Des Pyrenees

An unpasteurized goat’s milk cheese from the Pyrenees, the aroma of this gooey, oozy cheese is described as “yeasty” and “fragrant.”

5. Limburger

Originally produced in the historical Duchy of Limburg but now also in other places, the granddaddy of stinky cheeses is made from pasteurized cow’s milk. Its fragrance is most commonly compared to mushrooms and ripe underarms.

6. Trou du Cru

Berthaut, the maker of Epoisses (the stinky one that is banned on the Paris Metro), also makes Trou du Cru, often described as a petite version of Epoisses. It is washed in the French spirit Marc de Bourgogne and aged on straw, which adds some boozy barnyard hints to the other notes of body odor and sour milk. Beyond the rind resides a sweet, creamy, lovely cheese that many favor.

7. Livarot Munster

Named after a village in Normandy, this cow’s milk cheese is one of the oldest in the region. Don’t be scared by its aroma, which may be best described as hardcore barnyard.

8. Le Pavin d'Auvergne

Le Pavin d'Auvergne is an unpasteurized cow's milk cheese produced in the Auvergne region of France. Beyond the fungal funk of its rind resides a mild, sweet, and nutty cheese.

9. Pont l'Evêque

One cheese seller says about this cow’s milk cheese produced in Normandy, “The aroma of this cheese is likened to moldy cellars, barnyards, and bacon.” Some say it is so stinky they leave it outside until ready to eat.

10. Raclette

While many cheese shops describe this cow’s milk cheese from the Alps as having a pleasant aroma, the internet abounds with testimonies asserting a dirty foot and vomit fragrance.

11. Robiola Lombardia

This Italian cheese, crafted from cow’s milk, goat’s milk, or a combination of both, is made in a region near its stinky cousin, Taleggio.

12. Schloss

Schloss is a cow’s milk cheese from Austria with a slimy rind, and it is one of the stinkier cheeses on the block. It is “robust” and best suited for those with a strong like for a strong stink.

13. Soumaintrain Berthaut

This French cow's milk cheese from the Département de l'Yonne in Burgundy has its rind manually rubbed two to three times weekly during aging. While the aroma of Soumaintrain is quite assertive, the flavor is relatively demure; one seller describes it as "pleasantly pungent, with a fruity, yeasty beefiness."

14. Taleggio

This Italian cow's milk cheese from the Val Taleggio region is washed in seawater once a week during aging to achieve its wet socks-and-grass aroma; beneath the rind is a subtle, sweet, and tangy cheese that is far more mellow than its smell would suggest.

15. Stinking Bishop

This cheese made by Charles Martell & Son at their Laurel Farm in Dymock, England, uses milk from the rare Gloucester breed of cattle. It takes its name not from its outrageous stench but from the Stinking Bishop pears used to make the brandy that serves as a wash for the rinds. How stinky is Stinking Bishop? It took first place in a contest to determine England’s funkiest-smelling cheese, with judges describing it as smelling like “a rugby club changing room.”

16. Tomme de Chevre

While this raw goat’s milk cheese from the Aspe Valley in the French Pyrenees may not be the stinkiest of the bunch, it has a more assertive aroma than the mild goat cheeses your local supermarket may offer. It’s grassy and nutty, but it has a strong goaty smell with a particular kind of gaminess that some people find off-putting.

17. Vieux Lille

This stinker from northern France is so stinky that it’s nicknamed “old stinker.” Vieux Lille is a type of Maroilles, and it is washed with brine for three months, making it one of the most pungently fragranced cheeses on the planet. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is perfect for those who think the stinkier, the better.