Charles Martell Stinking Bishop Washed Rind Cheese 500g

Stinking Bishop is a washed rind cheese made by Charles Martell & Son at Dymock in Gloucestershire, its rind washed with pear cider, or perry, as it ripens. It is the smell that made it famous, and the rind is where the smell lives.

The cheese is 98.5% pasteurised cow's milk with 1.5% salt, microbial rennet, starter culture, a red smear culture and the perry wash, plus a trace of natamycin on the rind as a preservative. A red smear washed rind develops a sticky, orange-pink skin and a pungent, meaty aroma, while the paste inside stays soft and much milder than the nose suggests. Milk is the only declared allergen.

Serve it at room temperature and cut it in wedges, or, when it is properly ripe, take the top off and spoon it out. It wants plain crackers rather than flavoured ones: Peter's Yard Original Sourdough Crackers do the job. A wedge beside a glass of perry or a dry cider is the local pairing, and a spoonful melted over new potatoes with a few Drivers 1906 Pickled Onions makes a supper. Keep the strong cheese on its own plate at the end of a board.

A whole cheese of about 500g, sent chilled. Pasteurised milk and microbial rennet, so suitable for vegetarians. Keep it wrapped and well sealed in the fridge, for everyone's sake.

• Milk

Delivery

• England and Wales: £4.95, free over £50
• Scotland and Northern Ireland: £12
• Order by midday, Monday to Thursday, for next-day delivery
• Cheese and chilled items: sent Mondays and Wednesdays, order by 6pm Sunday or Tuesday. No extra charge.

Sent tracked by DPD or Royal Mail. Full details on our Delivery page.

Returns

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