Stinking Bishop — The Complete Guide

Stinking Bishop: The Cheese That Smells Worse Than It Tastes

Stinking Bishop is Britain's most provocatively named cheese — and possibly the most misunderstood. Its extraordinary aroma prompts alarm in the uninitiated and delight in the converted. It is a cheese that demands explanation: the smell is not a warning. It is a promise.

The Pear That Made the Cheese Famous

Stinking Bishop is washed in perry — specifically in perry made from the Stinking Bishop pear variety, a native Gloucestershire pear whose name predates the cheese by centuries. The cheese is periodically bathed in this perry during aging, which encourages the growth of Brevibacterium linens bacteria on the rind. These bacteria produce the orange-pink, pungent rind and the distinctive, powerful aroma.

The pear variety — and the cheese — take their name from a grumpy 19th-century Gloucestershire farmer named Bishop, who was apparently known for his foul temper as much as for his pear trees.

The Smell vs The Taste

This is the essential thing to understand about Stinking Bishop: the smell is not a guide to the taste.

The rind smells powerful, barnyard-y, and — if you're not prepared — alarming. New converts sometimes refuse to try it on this basis alone. They are making a mistake.

The interior paste is mild, sweet, and surprisingly subtle. When the cheese is properly ripe, it melts into a silky, savoury cream with notes of toasted grain, gentle sweetness, and an earthy depth. Nothing like the rind suggests.

This is the characteristic of all great washed-rind cheeses: the contrast between the assertive exterior and the gentler interior is the point. The rind protects and develops the paste; it does not represent it.

Charles Martell and the Creation

Stinking Bishop was created in 1972 by Charles Martell, a Gloucestershire farmer who was also dedicated to reviving rare breeds and rare fruit varieties. He chose to make his cheese in the Norman style — soft, washed-rind — and to wash it in perry from his own orchard of ancient Gloucestershire pear varieties.

Martell is credited with single-handedly reviving both the Stinking Bishop pear and the Old Gloucester cattle breed (used for Single Gloucester cheese). He is one of the significant figures in the British cheese revival, a maker who cared deeply about both agricultural heritage and flavour.

How to Eat It

Temperature: Stinking Bishop must be served at room temperature — ideally after 60-90 minutes out of the fridge. Cold cheese has almost no flavour.

Rind: The rind is edible, though its intense character is not to every taste. It is the convention to eat the paste and leave or eat the rind according to preference.

Accompaniments:

• Dark rye bread or pumpernickel — the robustness handles the rind's character
• Cornichons — their sharpness cuts through the richness
• Cider or perry — the most natural accompaniment for a Gloucester cheese
• Gewürztraminer — an aromatic white wine that matches the pungency

Wallace and Gromit (Again)

Stinking Bishop became nationally famous after appearing in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005). A wheel of the cheese is used to revive a comatose Wallace in a pivotal scene. Sales reportedly increased by 500% in the weeks following the film's release.

Unlike the Wallace and Gromit effect on Wensleydale, which was largely commercial, the Stinking Bishop moment introduced many British cheese lovers to the washed-rind style for the first time — with lasting positive effects on the artisan cheese market.

Storage Note

Washed-rind cheese like Stinking Bishop should be stored separately from other cheeses. The bacteria responsible for the rind will migrate to neighbouring cheeses and alter their character. Use a dedicated container, or wrap tightly in foil and store in a separate part of the fridge. Strong cheese protects itself; it shouldn't protect everything else as well.

If someone tells you they don't like Stinking Bishop, ask them if they've tasted the interior rather than just smelled the rind. The answer is usually illuminating.