I don’t have much experience with washed rind cheeses, at least not those that include Brevibactarium linens (or its various names). The washed rind cheeses need regular care, by which I mean that not only do they need to be kept at a certain temperature, but also that their rinds need to be wiped regularly (thus the name!), maybe every two or three days, to promote the growth of the bacterium. Eventually the rind stays damp (“sticky”) and turns orange or reddish, depending on the particular strain of the bacterium (mine is FR22).

From Wikipedia: “Brevibacterium linens is ubiquitously present on the human skin, where it causes foot odor.”

I don’t mind the smell at all. Perhaps an unrealized foot fetish?

This is a Taleggio type, kept at about 50 degrees, that has turned a nice color after five weeks:

I didn’t want to pay $47.95 for a Taleggio mold, so here’s my Dollar Store version, poked many times with a red-hot skewer (ooh err, missus):

Some of the curds didn’t fit into the mold, and went into a 4″ hoop. Kept in the same conditions as its parent, 48-50 degrees and 80-85% humidity . . . after a bit less than a month . . ., Houston, we have a problem:

The rind wasn’t appealing, but the insides were delicious, oozy, unctuous and buttery. Maybe the Big Cheese will be the same in a couple of weeks – – if not, I’ll have to try to repeat my failure 🙂

-R