Stinking Bishop is a

washed-rind cheese Washed-rind or smear-ripened cheeses are cheeses which are periodically treated with brine or mold-bearing agents. This encourages the growth of certain bacteria on their surface which give them distinctive flavors. There are hard and soft washed- ...

produced since 1972 by Charles Martell and Son at Hunts Court Farm, Dymock,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, in the west of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is made from the milk of

Gloucester cattle The Old Gloucester or Gloucester is a traditional British breed of cattle originating in Gloucestershire and surrounding areas in the West Country of England. It was originally a triple-purpose breed, reared for milk, for beef and for draught ...

History

By 1972, just 68 Gloucester breed heifers were left in the world. Charles Martell bought up many of the surviving cows, and began to produce cheese from their milk, not initially for its own sake, but to promote interest in the breed. Since then, his own herd has expanded to 25 cows, and with a revival of interest by other farmers, which has increased the total number of cows to around 450. The relatively small size of Martell's herd means that the Gloucester milk is combined and pasteurised with the milk of

Friesian cattle Frisian most often refers to: * Frisia, a cross-border coastal region in Germany and the Netherlands ** Frisians, the medieval and modern ethnic group inhabiting Frisia ***Frisii, the ancient inhabitants of Frisia prior to 600 AD **Frisian languag ...

from another farm nearby. The fat content is 48%. The colour of Stinking Bishop ranges from white/yellow to beige, with an orange to grey rind. It is moulded into wheels in weight, in diameter, and deep. Only about 20 tonnes are produced each year. The distinctive odour comes from the process with which the cheese is washed during its ripening; it is immersed in perry made from the local

Stinking Bishop pear 'Stinking Bishop' is a variety (cultivar) of pear cultivated near Dymock in Gloucestershire, England, primarily for perry. The main name of the cultivar is actually 'Moorcroft', named after the farm at Colwall where it first arose,Morgan (2015) ...

(from which the cheese gets its name) every four weeks while it matures. To increase the moisture content and to encourage bacterial activity, salt is not added until the cheese is removed from its mould.

Popular culture

This cheese was brought to international attention thanks to Wallace & Gromit. In the 2005 animated film ''

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit ''Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' is a 2005 stop-motion animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations. It was directed by Nick Park and Steve Box (in Box's feature directorial debut) as the second fea ...

'', Gromit uses it to revive Wallace. Demand for the cheese subsequently rose by 500%, forcing the cheesemaker to hire more staff and increase production. It was also referenced again at the end of Episode 4 of '' Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention'', where Wallace samples an even more pungent variant of Stinking Bishop, called "Stinking Archbishop." Chef Andrew Zimmern, host of the TV show ''

Bizarre Foods Bizarre may refer to: *Bizarre (rapper) (born 1976), an American rapper and member of hip hop group D12 *Bizarre (band), a Spanish rock band * ''Bizarre'' (TV series), a Canadian sketch comedy television series * ''Bizarre'' (magazine), a sister ...

'' ( Travel Channel), tastes Stinking Bishop during a visit to

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...

in London. The show’s recap mentions other delicacies tasted by Andrew, but not the cheese; one has to watch the part where Andrew visits the famous department store, guided by marketing manager Andre Dange. In the 2011

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

show '' King of...'', hosted by

Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on BBC Two. Since ...

, Stinking Bishop was named as the King of Cheese by Winkleman and her two guests Chris Evans and Sarah Millican.

Availability

Stinking Bishop is an artisanal, handmade cheese, so is not produced for supermarkets. It currently has over 130 stockists across the UK, and can be found in artisan food stores and delicatessens, as well as in

and Selfridges.

Awards

* 2010, Gold Medal Winner at the British Cheese Awards

References

External links