There are stinky cheeses and then there are stinky cheeses. The most pungent of them all just may be Limburger, butt of many jokes and friend to the mouthwash industry.It's a soft, cow's milk cheese that was invented in by Trappist monks in Belgium sometime in the 19th century. Besides its robust aroma, Limburger is very soft and somewhat salty, but not complex in taste.
Limburger is today primarily a cheese for Germans. They eat it in the old country, especially in Bavaria. German immigrants brought it with them to the Midwestern United States when they arrived there.
Wisconsin, in particular, was once a center for Limburger production. You might call it the cheese that made Milwaukee famous.
Today, however, Limburger's popularity in the United States has waned. Only one farmstead producer even makes the stuff, Chalet Cheese of Monroe, Wis. Other than that, you have to buy varieties made in Germany.
PAIRINGS: Limburger is a classic workingman's cheese, best paired with other flavorful things like dill pickles or sardines or a loaf of dense brown bread. Lager beer is the inevitable alcoholic accompaniment.
1 comments:
My dad used to come home, with Limburger snuck in a paper sack, like an cheese alcoholic. My mom would immediately detect it, and send him into the garage, where he'd devour it with a lager and some kraut on a bun. Ahh, the memories of limburger!
Post a Comment