Limburger (Country Castle)
- Producer
- Chalet Cheese Cooperative
- Country
- United States
- Region
- Wisconsin
- Size
- 4 ins long, 2 ins high, 2 ins wide
- Weight
- 8oz
- Website
- Milk
- Cow
- Treatment
- Pasteurised
- Classification
- Semi Soft
- Rennet
- Animal
- Rind
- Washed
Although true Limburger originates in Europe, this American version has, over the years, become an iconic American cheese.
Having been enormously popular in the United States in the early to mid part of the 20th century, Limburger was made in several locations across the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic, until the cheese style gradually fell out of favor. Now Myron Olson at the Chalet Cheese Cooperative in Green County, Wisconsin, is the sole producer of Limburger in the United States. Chalet's Limburger is produced under the Country Castle label.
Most people know Limburger for its notoriously pungent aroma, which is invariably much stronger than its flavor. The aroma is a result of the cheeses being surface ripened; they're washed with a solution of brine and Brevibacterium linens at regular intervals during the maturation. Some blocks are released after just a couple of weeks, while others mature for over three months.
Tasting Notes
The rind of the cheese is orange in color and sticky, while the interior paste is pale yellow. While young blocks are slightly rubbery in texture, aged versions develop a softer, more yielding paste with increasingly savory, pungent flavors.
Pairings
Wedge some extra-aged Limburger between slices of rye bread with raw red onion and mustard, and you've got yourself a classic Monroe, Wisconsin sandwich. For drink pairings, try either a darker Belgian style ale or an Alsacian white wine.
