I have raised my kids alone for the last 10 years. The twins just went off to colleges this fall and I have a very quiet home. I was so excited when they first moved out. I cleaned and cleaned, sometimes with a shovel and black construction bags. Room after room got assaulted. Rugs got thrown out. Everything got white washed, I moved furniture around, I staked the house out as MINE. One son said that I could not touch his bedroom period. I am saying ok for now. The other son said it was ok for me to hit his room. I was gleeful. The room stunk. “Sock turds” are socks that were once sweaty and dirty. They were ripped off of some boy’s foot and flown across the room. Eventually they collect dust and become encrusted and are hidden from view under beds or furniture.  I figured my son must have an incredible collection somewhere. I bagged everything, cleaned his sheets, washed and vacuumed. I could not get rid of that stinky feet smell.

            There is a whole category of cheeses fondly referred to as  “stinky feet cheese”. These are washed rind cheeses. They are soft-ripened cheeses whose rinds have been rubbed or immersed in a solution of brine, wine, beer or grape brandy. Taleggio, Edel de Cleron, Vacherin Fribourgeois, and of course, Stinking Bishop, to name a few great ones.  This helps to flavor the soft interior all the way into nutty and beefy flavors. The aromas of these rinds are far stronger than the interior, and rotten eggs or stinky feet comes to mind. Of course, don’t eat the rind, as you will then not be able to taste the lovely interior.

            Anyhow, I noticed that I had left my computer bag in his room, and it too smelled terrible. I opened it to find that I had forgotten some of the Oka cheese that I brought back from Canada in the bag months ago. This is not a good way to keep cheese. It was a beautiful washed rind cheese when I got it in Montreal, and smelled just perfectly stinky back then.

Filed under: Cheese and Meats by kris