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Stinking Bishop cheese

Stinking Bishop is a soft gourmet cheese produced since 1972 by Charles Martel and Son at Laurel Farm, Dymock, Gloucestershire in the South West of England. It is made from the milk of Gloucester cattle, which in 1972 consisted of only 68 Gloucester breed heifers. The breed has been revived to make production of the cheese possible, though it is often combined and pasteurised with the milk of Friesian cattle from a nearby county. The fat content is 48%.

The colour ranges from white/yellow to beige, with an orange to grey rind. It is moulded into wheels 2 kg (4.4 lb) in weight, 20 cm (8 inch) in diameter, and 4 cm (1.5 inch) deep. Though only about 20 tonnes are produced each year. Stinking Bishop's notorious odour, which is said to be similar to unwashed socks and wet towels, keeps it popular in the UK and abroad. 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. The process is said to have links with that used by local Cistercian monks who have long been associated with the production of washed rind cheeses. As with the French cheese Époisses de Bourgogne, the odour of Stinking Bishop is often found offensive.

To increase the moisture content and to encourage bacterial activity, salt is not added until the cheese is removed from its mould. Air bubbles form in the mould, giving the finished cheese an Emmental-like appearance when sliced.

The cheese was brought to international attention by a brief but important role in the Oscar-winning 2005 animated film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, in which it was used to revive Wallace from the dead. Demand for the cheese subsequently rose by 500%

Stinking Bishop won Bronze and Gold Medals at the British Cheese Awards in both 2011 and 2012.

See also

Calories in different varieties and various types of cheeses

The number of calories in various types of cheese is very similar when you compare your cheese to a similar types of cheese.

For example, almost cheeses that are similar to Cheddar cheese have around 400 calories per 100g

If the Stinking Bishop cheese is not listed below, select a similar type of cheese from the list below to get a rough idea for the number of calories in Stinking Bishop cheese.

The calorie lists are sortable by clicking the up and down arrows in the heading columns

Cheese type Calories per 100g
American cheese 371
Blue cheese 353
Camembert cheese 299
Cheddar cheese 402
Cottage cheese 98
Edam cheese 357
Farmer's cheese 98
Feta cheese 264
Fontina cheese 389
Goat cheese 364
Gouda cheese 356
Gruyere cheese 413
Mozzarella cheese 280
Parmesan cheese 431
Pimento cheese 375
Provolone cheese 352
Queso blanco cheese 310
Ricotta cheese 174
Roquefort cheese 369
Swiss cheese 380

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Errors and omissions

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