{"title":"Washed Rind Cheese","description":"\u003cp\u003eWashed rind cheeses are the ones your nose notices first, and that's the point. The rind gets bathed in brine, beer, or brandy as it ages, which feeds the cultures that turn it orange and pungent while the paste underneath goes silky and sweet. The bark is always louder than the bite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBurgundy is the capital: Berthaut's Époisses, washed in marc de Bourgogne until it's nearly spoonable (we also carry a selection from affineur Rodolphe Le Meunier), plus its quieter neighbors Soumaintrain and Langres, the little drum with a well on top made for a splash of champagne. Alsace sends Haxaire's Munster. Normandy weighs in with Pont l'Évêque and Livarot. From the mountains: Saint Nectaire, Morbier with its line of ash, and Le Délice du Jura when raclette night calls.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe monastery wing is real, too. Abbaye de Tamié from the Alps and Mont des Cats from French Flanders are both still made by monks, and De'Magi's aged Taleggio PDO covers Italy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA washed rind and a Belgian ale is one of the oldest pairings in the book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCut to order in Beverly Hills and shipped cold to 48 states.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"morbier","title":"Morbier","description":"\u003cp\u003eMorbier is a raw cow's milk cheese from the Franche-Comté in eastern France, made in the same Jura highlands that give us Comté. The thing everyone notices first is that dark seam of vegetable ash running right through the middle of the paste, a holdover from the days when farmers would cover the morning's curds with ash to protect them until the evening milking went on top.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is supple and semi-soft, ivory to pale yellow, and gives gently under the knife. Flavor opens mild and buttery with a fresh-cream lactic note up front, then pulls into mushroom, hay, and a soft earthy lift from the pinkish washed rind. The finish is clean and mid-length, more savory than sharp. It melts beautifully, which is why it ends up in gratins and on potatoes all over the Jura.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a cheese that rewards patience at room temperature. Let it sit out, watch the paste relax, and the rind aromatics come forward. Right in the sweet spot for anyone who likes a washed rind with cream-forward manners rather than full barnyard.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673212051625,"sku":"12016","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-morbier.jpg?v=1744803908"},{"product_id":"livarot","title":"Livarot","description":"\u003cp\u003eLivarot is a cow's milk washed-rind cheese from Normandy, France, soft-paste under a sticky orange rind and ringed with five strips of dried sedge that give it its nickname, the Colonel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is supple and yielding, the kind of soft-ripened cheese that gives under the knife and grows almost spoonable near the rind as it ages. That orange rind gets there honestly, washed in brine through maturation, which is what pulls the color forward and builds the pungent, barnyardy character the cheese is famous for. On the palate it leads with a big savory hit, wet straw and cellar and a mushroomy pull from the rind, then a salty meaty depth that lingers well past the swallow. The interior stays a touch milder than the nose suggests, with a soft buttery undertone keeping the funk in check.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a classic of the Pays d'Auge and one of the oldest named cheeses in Normandy, AOP protected and made to a recipe that has not needed updating. If you like a serious washed-rind cheese with a real point of view, this is the one to know.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673218801833,"sku":"10001244","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-livarot-coupe.jpg?v=1744803993"},{"product_id":"pont-leveque-lbs","title":"Pont L'Eveque","description":"\u003cp\u003ePont-l'Évêque is a square, washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Normandy, made by Graindorge in the town of Livarot. One of the oldest named cheeses in France, with records going back to the 13th century, and it carries AOP protection tied to the Normandy region.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is semi-soft and supple, pale straw in color, with a buttery, nutty character through the middle and a softer cream line just under the rind as it ripens. That orange-pink rind is brine-washed during affinage, which is where the pungency lives, mushroomy, earthy, a little barnyardy, with a savory pull that lingers on the finish. The aroma reads stronger than the paste actually tastes, which is part of what makes this cheese a good entry into the washed-rind family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a proper Norman cheese, square because it always has been, and it eats best at room temperature when the paste has had time to relax and the rind has come forward. A great one to have on the counter for a few hours before serving.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673219096745,"sku":"10001318","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/PontL_eveque.jpg?v=1765237216"},{"product_id":"saint-nectaire","title":"Saint Nectaire","description":"\u003cp\u003eSaint-Nectaire is a raw cow's milk AOP cheese from the volcanic high pastures of the Auvergne in central France, one of the oldest farmhouse cheeses in the country and a benchmark for the rustic semi-soft category. The wheels are aged on rye straw in cool cellars for at least eight weeks, where the natural rind takes on a mottled grey, white and tan coat that smells unmistakably of mushrooms and damp stone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is supple and ivory, giving just slightly under the knife with a smooth break and a faint chalk through the center on younger wheels that fades to a buttery cream line as the cheese ripens. On the palate it leads with fresh cream and salted butter, then pulls into cellar mushroom, wet hay and a quiet hazelnut underneath. The finish is mid-length and clean, holding onto the earthy note for a beat before fading.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the cheese that built the Auvergne's reputation, and a fresh wheel in good condition is what every other semi-soft natural-rind from the region is measured against.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673229418665,"sku":"11749","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-saint-nectaire.jpg?v=1744804143"},{"product_id":"st-albray","title":"Saint Albray","description":"\u003cp\u003eSaint Albray is a pasteurized cow's milk washed-rind cheese from Aquitaine, in the southwest of France. It's shaped into a distinctive flower-petal wheel with a hollow center, designed so the rind has more surface area and the paste ripens evenly from the outside in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is soft and supple, pale ivory, with a buttery creamy texture that loosens as it comes to room temperature. The orange-pink rind is bloomy with a light wash, and it brings a gentle mushroomy, faintly salty note that sits underneath the cream rather than pushing through it. On the palate it leads with warm butter and fresh cream, picks up a quiet earthy pull from the rind, and finishes short and clean.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a washed rind for people who think washed rinds are too much. It has the look and the rind character of a stronger cheese but the flavor sits in mild, creamy territory, closer to a brie than to a Munster or a Pont-l'Évêque. A good gateway into the category, and an easy soft cheese to keep on hand.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default","offer_id":45673236365481,"sku":"10800","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/IMG_4556.jpg?v=1744804380"},{"product_id":"le-delice-de-jura","title":"Reblechon - Le Delice Du Jura","description":"\u003cp\u003eReblochon-style cow's milk cheese from the Savoie region of France, a supple washed-rind wheel built on the rich alpine pastures that gave the original its reputation. Pliable, cream-forward, and squarely in the mild-to-medium range, the kind of washed rind that draws people in rather than scaring them off.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is velvety and giving, with a soft pinkish-orange rind that brings a quiet mushroomy, cellar-cool note over the top of the buttery cream. At room temperature it loosens up and turns almost spoonable, and the flavor pulls a little more savory as the rind opens up. There's a light browned-butter hint along the cream line near the rind, but the dairy itself stays the headline, clean and fresh.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the wheel to reach for when you want washed-rind character without the full barnyard. It melts beautifully, which is why it ended up at the center of tartiflette in the first place, and it's just as happy at room temperature on the board with a piece of crusty bread.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Savory Gourmet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673238003881,"sku":"3370010001401","price":48.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/cheese-reblechon-le-delice-du-jura.jpg?v=1744804410"},{"product_id":"epoisses-cow-burgundy-france-250g","title":"Rodolphe Le Meunier Epoisses AOC (250g)","description":"\u003cp\u003eÉpoisses from Rodolphe Le Meunier, the affineur out of the Loire Valley who finishes some of the most carefully handled wheels in France, working in the classic Burgundian recipe. Cow's milk, soft, washed in brine and Marc de Bourgogne through the aging room until the rind turns that sticky burnt-orange color you can spot from across the case.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste underneath is fully spoonable at room temperature, glossy and almost liquid against the rind. Salty and winey on the front, with the Marc de Bourgogne pulling through into a long savory finish that's deeply mushroomy and a little brandy-sweet. The rind is the engine of the whole thing, doing the heavy lifting on flavor while the paste stays rich and buttery underneath.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is not a quiet cheese. It's one of the great washed-rinds of France, AOC protected, and at its best when the top sinks under a spoon.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Savory Gourmet","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45870649901225,"sku":"3307950012020","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/LM_Epoisse.jpg?v=1767197382"},{"product_id":"demagi-taleggio-pdo-green-label-1","title":"De'Magi Taleggio PDO Green Label (Aged)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA washed-rind cow's milk Taleggio PDO from Lombardy, matured in the Tuscan cellars of our dear friend Andrea Magi. The Green Label is the slightly older sibling of the Brown, a step further along in age and a step bolder on the palate, with the stamped T on the rind that marks the real PDO.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is semi-soft and properly ripe right now, with a tacky orange washed rind from a salt-water brine and a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth interior that runs just slightly near the edge once it warms up. On the nose it's pungent in that old-school Trappist-monk washed-rind way, but the flavor lands rounder than the aroma, fruity and lightly tangy with a meaty, savory pull and a mushroomy character coming off the rind. The finish carries the brine and the salt of the rind well past the swallow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEat the rind on this one, that's where half the flavor lives.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"De'Magi - Base Alimentare","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45673273917609,"sku":"14864","price":48.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/https_cdn.shopify.comsfiles1066760278185filescomingsoon_e52745e7-5b29-4902-a234-8e9ea668efb8.png_v_1736256884.jpg?v=1755054241"},{"product_id":"avarizia","title":"De'Magi Avarizia","description":"\u003cp\u003eAvarizia is a washed-rind cow and buffalo milk cheese from De'Magi in Castiglion Fiorentino, Tuscany. The recipe uses less salt than most washed rinds, which lets the buffalo milk push through on the palate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rind is reddish, moist, and a little sticky, the kind that tells you the cheese has been properly tended in the cave. Under it the paste is straw-colored, semi-soft, and supple, with a buttery consistency that holds together under the knife but gives way the second it warms up. The nose is pungent, classic washed-rind territory, all mushroomy and earthy. The palate is rounder than the aroma suggests, with the buffalo cream lending a richness that softens the funk and the lower-salt approach keeping things from getting sharp. It's a good answer for someone who likes Taleggio but wants something with a little more cream behind it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a serious washed-rind cheese with a velvet glove on it, intense where it needs to be, gentle where it counts.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"De'Magi - Base Alimentare","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45730912927913,"sku":"10067","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/https_cdn.shopify.comsfiles1066760278185filescomingsoon.png_v_1730984373_8640c9a4-1e8d-4fe7-9d0c-0e791d77fbaf.jpg?v=1756232975"},{"product_id":"abbaye-de-tamie","title":"Abbaye de Tamie","description":"\u003cp\u003eAbbaye de Tamié comes from the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Tamié, a Trappist monastery tucked into the Savoie mountains of France, where the monks have been making cheese in this style for generations. It's an unpasteurized cow's milk cheese aged just above 60 days so it can be brought into the US, and the rind is brushed and washed with brine through the whole aging process, which is what develops that distinctive pinkish-salmon color on the wheel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste underneath is semi-soft, really smooth and buttery, with a creamy give that opens up the longer the cheese sits at room temperature. Flavor is mellow up front with a nutty, savory pull that gets more pronounced as the wheel ages. The washed rind brings in some of that mushroomy, earthy character you expect from a Trappist style, but the whole thing stays gentle, never stinky.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat makes this one stand out is the discipline behind the recipe. The monks at Tamié work the rind by hand, wheel by wheel, in the same cellars they've used for generations, and you can taste that care in how clean and balanced the finish is.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills | Domenico's Foods","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45730916860073,"sku":"10001051","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/AbbeyeTeTamie.jpg?v=1763418018"},{"product_id":"cabricharme-lbs","title":"Cabricharme","description":"\u003cp\u003eCabricharme is a raw goat's milk washed-rind cheese from Belgium, aged about three months in damp cellars where the rind is repeatedly washed in brine. That work at the surface is what gives the cheese its sticky, salmon-pink rind and most of its character.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste underneath stays semi-soft and smooth, fresh and milky and clean in the way a good young goat's milk cheese should be. The rind brings the savory pull, yeasty, meaty, with a dry-aged-beef quality and a quiet sweetness of honey and toasted hazelnut underneath. Not so harsh as some goat's milk cheeses can be, but really cleanly done. The contrast between the creamy interior and the funkier washed rind is the whole point, and at three months it sits right in the sweet spot.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45731072901289,"sku":"12842","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/15544_Cabricharme-3.webp?v=1745858557"},{"product_id":"soumaintrain-berthaut-200g","title":"Soumaintrain Berthaut (200g)","description":"\u003cp\u003eSoumaintrain Berthaut is a washed-rind cow's milk cheese from Burgundy, France, made by the Berthaut family in Époisses, the same town that gave the better-known Époisses its name. This is the quieter, slightly younger cousin in the family of Burgundian washed rinds, but it carries the same pedigree.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rind is sticky and orange, washed in brine and Marc de Bourgogne, the local pomace brandy, which is what builds that aromatic pull and the sweet edge underneath the funk. The paste shifts as the cheese ripens. Young, it stays a little chalky in the center with a soft buttery cream line under the rind. Give it time and the whole interior turns spoonable, almost liquid, and the flavor opens up into something savory, buttery, and faintly sweet from the brandy wash. Properly ripe, this is a cheese you eat with a spoon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe nose is pungent, classic washed-rind territory, but the palate is gentler than you might expect, more mushroomy than aggressive. There's a lot of Burgundy in the glass and on the plate that wants exactly this cheese next to it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45731348906153,"sku":"3307950070006","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/Soumatrain200g.jpg?v=1767470491"},{"product_id":"haxaire-munster-lbs","title":"Haxaire Munster","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is real Munster from Alsace, made by Haxaire in Lapoutroie up in the Vosges mountains of eastern France. Not the mild sliceable loaf you grew up calling Munster in America. This is the AOP washed-rind cheese the name actually refers to, cow's milk, soft paste, and a sticky orange-red rind built up through repeated brine washings during aging.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste underneath is pale ivory and supple straight out of the fridge, then turns spoonable and almost runny as it warms to room temperature. Flavor leads with a savory, meaty pull from the rind, mushroomy and a little barnyardy, with a buttery cow's milk roundness underneath that keeps the whole thing from tipping into pure funk. The finish is long and salty, with a quiet onion-skin note that hangs on the back of the palate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's definitely not for the faint of heart, and that's the point. Let it come up to temperature, scoop it onto walnut bread with a few cumin seeds the way they do in Alsace, and you'll taste why the locals have been making this exact recipe for centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46485575893161,"sku":"17199","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/https_cdn.shopify.comsfiles1066760278185filescomingsoon_cdc59736-c0c0-4540-af53-1f07d5f0ce3e.png_v_1736260594.jpg?v=1748035405"},{"product_id":"langres","title":"Langres (180g)","description":"\u003cp\u003eLangres is a pasteurized cow's milk washed-rind cheese from Champagne-Ardenne in France, made by Fromagerie Germain and protected under AOP. You'll know it by the sunken top, a natural dimple called the fontaine, that forms because the wheels are never turned during aging.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rind is sticky and bright orange from regular brine washes, and the paste underneath is soft, fudgy, and just a little chalky toward the center as it ripens. On the nose it's pungent and unmistakably washed-rind, but the flavor sits a step back from Époisses, salty and tangy with a rich cultured-cream pull through the middle and a long savory finish that holds on the palate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe move with Langres is to pour Champagne or Marc de Champagne right into the fontaine and let it soak in before you spoon it out. It's the regional pairing, and once you've had it that way it's hard to go back. A proper wheel in good condition, this is one of the more theatrical cheeses on the counter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46497882210473,"sku":"3336660000164","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/Langres_45ee8913-5351-4673-9c48-20fa3f76474f.jpg?v=1767196461"},{"product_id":"epoisses-250g","title":"Berthaut Epoisses AOC (250g)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBerthaut Époisses is a pasteurized cow's milk washed-rind cheese from the village of Époisses in Burgundy, France, made under AOP rules by Fromagerie Berthaut.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste sits behind a sticky, orange-red rind that has been washed for weeks in brine and Marc de Bourgogne, the pomace brandy of the region. As it ripens it goes from a buttery, set interior to something you scoop with a spoon. The flavor is salty and winey, with that cellar, mushroomy pull off the rind running straight into the paste. There is a real funk to it, balanced by the rich, buttery cream underneath.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eÉpoisses is in a class of its own. If you already love washed-rinds, this is the wheel that asks the most of you and gives the most back. Bring it to room temperature, take the top off the box, and go in with a spoon.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peacock Cheese","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46497910390953,"sku":"3263093000501","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/LMEpoisse.jpg?v=1767467313"},{"product_id":"mont-des-cats-lbs","title":"Mont Des Cats","description":"\u003cp\u003eMont des Cats is a pasteurized cow's milk Trappist-style washed-rind cheese from the Abbaye du Mont des Cats in Godewaersvelde, up in the Nord of France near the Flemish border. The monks here have been making cheese in this recipe for well over a century, and it's one of those old-school washed-rinds that drinks-in its character from the rind inward.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe paste is semi-soft and pale yellow, supple under the knife with a smooth even break. Up top you get that deep reddish-orange rind, the kind that lets beneficial bacteria do the work of mellowing the paste as the wheel ages. On the palate it leads with butter and fresh cream through the middle, then pulls savory and lightly mushroomy on the back end from the washed rind. It's funky in the good sense, hearty without being stinky, and the finish lingers just long enough to make you want another bite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThink of this as the granddaddy of the Port Salut family, only with more backbone. A real old-school monastery cheese, made the way it's been made for generations, and right in the sweet spot for anyone who likes a washed-rind that's confident but still approachable.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World's Best Cheese West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46849986101417,"sku":"12583","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/files\/Mont_des_Cats_Moines_Trappistes.jpg?v=1772669942"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6027\/8185\/collections\/cheese-saint-nectaire.jpg?v=1781112045","url":"https:\/\/cheesestore.com\/collections\/washed-rind-cheese.oembed","provider":"The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills | Domenico's Foods","version":"1.0","type":"link"}