Stinking Bishop

Stinking Bishop is a washed-rind cheese produced since 1972 by Charles Martell and Son at Hunts Court Farm, Dymock, Gloucestershire. It is made from the milk of Gloucester cattle.

By 1972, just 68 Gloucester breed heifers were left in the world. Charles Martell bought up many of the surviving cows and began to produce cheese from their milk, not initially for its own sake but to promote interest in the breed. Since then, his own herd has expanded to 25 cows and with a revival of interest by other farmers, which has increased the total number of cows to around 450. The relatively small size of Martell's herd means that the Gloucester milk is combined and pasteurised with the milk of Friesian cattle from another farm nearby. The fat content is 48%.

The colour of Stinking Bishop ranges from white/yellow to beige, with an orange to grey rind. It is moulded into wheels 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) in weight, 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in diameter and 4 centimetres (1.6 in) deep. Only about 20 tonnes are produced each year.

The distinctive odour comes from the process with which the cheese is washed during its ripening; it is immersed in perry made from the local Stinking Bishop pear (from which the cheese gets its name) every four weeks while it matures. To increase the moisture content and to encourage bacterial activity, salt is not added until the cheese is removed from its mould.

This cheese was brought to international attention thanks to Wallace & Gromit. In the 2005 animated film The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Gromit uses it to revive Wallace. Demand for the cheese subsequently rose by 500% forcing the cheesemaker to hire more staff and increase production. It was also referenced again at the end of Episode 4 of Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention, where Wallace samples an even more pungent variant of Stinking Bishop, called "Stinking Archbishop."

Chef Andrew Zimmern, host of the TV show Bizarre Foods (Travel Channel), tastes Stinking Bishop during a visit to Harrods in London. The show’s recap mentions other delicacies tasted by Andrew, but not the cheese; one has to watch the part where Andrew visits the famous department store, guided by marketing manager Andre Dange.

In the 2011 Channel 4 show King of..., hosted by Claudia Winkleman, Stinking Bishop was named as the King of Cheese by Winkleman and her two guests Chris Evans and Sarah Millican.

Stinking Bishop is an artisanal, handmade cheese, so is not produced for supermarkets. It currently has over 130 stockists across the UK, and can be found in artisan food stores and delicatessens, as well as in Harrods and Selfridges. i bought mine in Hampstead adn found it a little bland.

Double Gloucester

Gloucester is a traditional, semi-hard cheese made in Gloucestershire since the 16th century. There are two varieties, Single and Double; both traditionally made from milk from Gloucester cattle. Both types have a natural rind and a hard texture but Single Gloucester is more crumbly, lighter in texture and lower in fat. Double Gloucester is allowed to age for longer periods than Single and has a stronger and more savoury flavour. It is also slightly firmer. The flower known as lady's bedstraw (Galium verum) was responsible for the distinctively yellow colour of Double Gloucester cheese.

In the UK today, Double Gloucester is more widely sold. Both types are produced in round shapes but Double Gloucester rounds are larger. Traditionally whereas the Double Gloucester was a prized cheese comparable in quality to the best Cheddar or Cheshire and was exported out of the county, Single Gloucester tended to be consumed within Gloucestershire.

Most Double Gloucester sold in UK supermarkets is slab cheese made in large creameries operated by major dairy companies such as Dairy Crest. Supermarkets normally sell Double Gloucester under their own store brand. This version of the cheese is pasteurised but not processed.

Manufacture of traditional Gloucester cheeses from the Gloucester cow died out in the 1950s along with most of the Gloucester cattle. However, in 1973 Charles Martell managed to gather three Old Gloucester cows from the herd of less than 50 left in the county. A BBC TV series A Taste of Britain filmed his successful attempt to revive the tradition of farmhouse Double Gloucester that year. In 1978 Martell went on to revive the lost Single Gloucester cheese. Traditionally produced Gloucester cheese is supported by the Slow Food movement since 2004. Single Gloucester has PDO status and can only be made in Gloucestershire on farms with Gloucester cows. As of 2010 six cheese makers produce it.

The reason for the two types of Gloucester cheese being called 'double' and 'single' is unknown. The main theories are

• the creamy milk had to be skimmed twice to make the double variety
• cream from the morning milk was added to the evening milk
• a Double Gloucester cheese is typically twice the height of a Single Gloucester

Double Gloucester cheese is used every spring for the Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake. Competitors chase a cheese down a steep Gloucestershire hillside; the first person to reach the bottom of the 50% gradient, 200 yards (180 m) slope wins the cheese.