Geodog

Who are you calling stinking?

The offline reader in the house ran across a mention of a cheese in the latest New Yorker and asked me to Google it. The first result, from The Teddington Cheese Online,
British and continental cheesemongers:

Stinking Bishop is said to be derived from a cheese once made by Cistercian monks in the village of Dymock. Monks have always been associated with the production of 'washed rind' cheeses. These are cheeses which are washed in a variety of liquids. They are generally full-flavoured with lively aromas. Stinking Bishop is no exception and uses perry as its wash. It has a sticky yellow-orange rind and smells of old socks. The paste is soft and creamy, the flavour is delicious and, although full and distinctive, it is not quite as pungent as the odour may imply! At certain times of year the paste becomes firmer and slightly crumbly. The cheese is similar to the famous French Epoisses which has been banned from the public transport system in Paris. In fact, at a recent cheese show in France they were amazed to discover that Stinking Bishop was made in England.

The cheese takes its name from the variety of pear used to make the washing solution. Stinking Bishop pears are one of over 100 varieties which are grown on the Gloucestershire-Herefordshire border.

While this was never part of the family lore, Stinking Bishop was Teddington's Best New Cheese in 2003. If you are interesting in trying some, a 2 kilo cheese will run you about 42 pounds, plus shipping.

Somehow, having one's name associated with a cheese with the aroma of old socks similar to a cheese that has been banned from the Paris Metro seems appropriate for someone who had to be dissuaded from naming his first-born child after his favorite cheese of the time, Cotswold, and whose favorite store is the Cheeseboard.