For The Gooiest Cheeses, It’s All About The Washed Rind
According to Insider, the so-called washed rind cheeses are rubbed with brine, cultures, wine, or beer for extra fun. As a chapter in Cheese Problems Solved explains, this “smearing” process causes B. linens bacteria to proliferate on the exterior of the cheese, which out-compete undesired microorganisms and result in the signature strong odors and paradoxically delicate flavors of this (in)famous family of cheeses. It gives the cheeses pinkish-orange coloration and slightly sticky, but not slimy, exterior that may contain crunchy salt crystals leftover from their brines, Culture Cheese Mag writes. Many raw milk-washed rind cheeses are illegal in the United States.
As Wisconsin Cheese explains, the edible washed rind that naturally develops is similar to a bread crust and shouldn’t be skipped by cheese purists. But perhaps the most enticing thing about washed rind cheeses is their creamy, oozy quality that develops with age and temperature. This comes from the natural molds and yeasts transforming the cheese’s fats and proteins — ripening the cheese from the outside in, according to Saxelby Cheese. The blog explains that you can see this in action when the rubbery outer rind begins to separate from the gooey interior of the cheese.
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