My mother loves cheese. Actually, that is an understatement since she once told me she could LIVE on cheese and bread. But what she REALLY loves is smelly German Cheese. Stinky, ripe, room-clearing, odoriferous cheese. Woe to the curious child who accidentally opened up the container with Limburger! You would end up with that smell in your nose for the rest of the day. As it turns out, Germany has many stinky cheeses! Including a few that will get you asked to leave public transportation. So, go nuts and eat the cheese! (Just do it outside, please.) These all go well with a slice of Rye bread and a Beer!
(Now I’m wondering if Biergartens were invented so people could eat their smelly German cheeses in peace.)
Smelly German Cheese
I’m sure it’s no accident that Germans call stinky feet “Käsefüß”, meaning “cheese foot”.
Limburger
Serve Limburger cheese with a good rye bread
Limburger cheese is renowned for being the most pungent cheese in the world. It originated in Belgium but is now made mainly by the Germans. It has a soft, creamy texture and a taste that’s earthy, almost meaty in flavor. Although many people swear by the taste of this German stinky cheese, a high regard for the odor definitely must be acquired. The famous aroma is due to Brevibacterium linens, an enzyme partly responsible for the smell of the human body, which breaks down certain proteins on the surface of the cheese, giving rise to that “stinky” odor. (It smells like feet, really stinky teenage boy feet.)
You can buy Limburger Cheese HERE–> Limburger
St. Mang Bavarian Limburger, 6.35 oz
Limburger (6 pack)Brick – Limburger Cheese 8 oz.Limburger (6.35 ounce)AMISH CHEESE Spread Limburger, 8 Ounce (Pack of 12)
Liederkranz Cheese
Bierkäse or Weisslackerkäse
Bierkase… served with onion and paprika.
Don’t mix up Bierkäse with Beer Cheese. Bierkäse is a brick shaped member of the cheddar family. (Beer Cheese is a cheese spread that has a pungency all it’s own, mostly because of garlic). It gets the name Weisslackerkäse (white lacquer cheese) from the varnish-like mold coat it gets while ripening in humid conditions (sounds appetizing, doesn’t it?). The flavor of this German cheese is both tangy and pungent but its characteristically pungent odor doesn’t stop this cheese from being enjoyed on a slab of rye bread along with a healthy spoonful of spicy mustard. Once you get past the smell, cheese lovers agree, the flavor of this cheese is quite satisfying. Serve with a beer for maximum delicious effect. In fact, it’s customary to even DIP this cheese into your beer.
Order Bierkäse here–> Bierkäse
Order a Selection of Cheese and Braunschweiger!
Everything you need for a stinky cheese party… crackers, cheese and Wurst.
Rotschmierkäse
The Rotschmierkäse (red spread cheese) got its name from the sticky red rind that covers this especially pungent cheese. The cheese is bathed in red mold cultures and brined several times during the ripening process, constantly adding more flavor (and odor) to this spicy and piquant cheese. You can eat the Rotschmierkäse while it’s still immature. The inside will have a quark-like consistency and is a bit milder. As the cheese matures, the soft center shrinks, and the cheese develops more flavor and a significantly stronger aroma. Feel free to eat the rind, too.
Order it in bulk here–> Rougette Bavarian Red
Handkäse (mit Musik)
HandKäse comes with or without Caraway seeds, and is often served with onion vinaigrette (music)
Handkäse (or hand cheese), a specialty of Frankfurt, might be the stinkiest, nastiest cheese of all. The name comes from the fact that it’s rolled by hand. It’s a “smeared acid curd” cheese made from soured milk (I looked at a few technical cheese-making articles about what exactly a smeared acid curd is, and I’m still not clear. Let’s just say there is yeast or bacteria, and it’s complicated). The cheese ripens in a sweating room. In the end, you get a somewhat translucent cheese whose smell reminds me of the time I drove five teen soccer players home after a particularly active game. My eyes melted, and I had to open the windows, even though it was raining. Handkäse lovers adore this stuff, especially when served with a raw onion vinaigrette. (This is where the music comes from. It’s a fart joke.) Handkäse is sold with and without Caraway seeds. Read more about the wonders of Handkäse here on the Spoonfuls of Germany blog.
If you’re a cheese fan and you don’t mind a little odor, you may want to give these odoriferous cheeses a try. Fortunately, their taste is much more appealing than their smell.
Cheese German KASE Hazer Hand Cheese $7 (7oz) a piece !! US SELLER !!ebay
Order a Selection of German Cheeses HERE
Emmentaler Cheese (1 lb)German Cheese Cambozola Triple Cream 1 lb.St. Mang Bavarian Limburger, 6.35 ozDietz & Watson Originals German Gruyere Cheese Block, 7 oz.igourmet German Cambozola Black Label Cheese (7.5 ounce) – Pack of 3Limburger Cheese | Specialty Cheese | Authentic Amish Country Cheese | Gourmet, Bold & Pungent Flavor | Fresh & Aged for Rich Taste | (Party Pack, Limburger)German-Style Brick Cheese from The Wisconsin Cheeseman
My favorite cheese is Harzer Kaese, I buy my Harzer Kaese at Alpine Village whenever we’re in Torrance. Had it in the Harz region of Germany quite often, recently just one month ago in Goslar. It could be smelly, but not very. I enjoyed it in Berlin before we came over in 1950. Used to be able to get it in the San Francisco Bay area at Germany Deli’s. As for the list above, I don’t care for any of the one’s listed. I enjoy your Facebook reports and comments.
Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful article.
Many thanks for providing this info.
I lived in Dusseldorf 40 years ago. Just down the street from my house was a small pub that served “Handkase mit Muskik” Just about the worst smelling thing you could imagine. Man, it was good though! Would love some of that again
There is a link now in the post for a seller in the United States!
You forgot Tilsit as it very smelly too
OH! I will add it
Tilsit is great when toasted on top of good bread.
Ohhhh… toasted cheese bread is always delicious
The cheese I miss the most is Ingverkäse. Do you know anywhere that can be purchased?
I’m sorry… I can’t find it anywhere
Can you please give your recipe for Himbeer Kase Streuselküchen with quark? Thank you.
I’ve written it up without QUark here.. https://germangirlinamerica.com/raspberry-streusel-cheesecake-recipe-himbeer-kase-streuselkuchen/
My mom is 2nd Gen German American and on a visit to her sister, she bought Limburger and liederkranz. I didn’t allow it in my car. Wrapped in butcher paper, aluminum foil, and then plastic bag, I tapped it to the car’s rear bumper. I got stopped by PA police for something on the bumper. I explained and he smelled it. WHEW! Stopped again in VA, so he could smell!
Hahahaha…. that’s something you and he won’t forget.