I recently tried Epoisses for the first time. It has a reputation as perhaps the smelliest of all cheeses (so much so that it’s said to be illegal to carry on the Paris subway).
In the US it’s supposedly quite hard to get the genuine unpasteurized version, and indeed mine was made from pasteurized milk. It offered only modest hints of its very smelly nature, and the taste was not intense - but quite good. I found it goes well with apples and port.
Has anyone had the real thing? Does it live up to its reputation? Is it available only in France?
Well, I can’t really help you, but I want to mention that just before reading your post, I had caught an episode of a sitcom called Histoires de filles where a particularly potent Époisses cheese acted as a plot device. Its smell was likened to a three week old rorqual carcass rotting on a beach in Mexico. I find it interesting that I just heard about this cheese – which I’d never heard of before – twice in the same evening. Now as to whether the real thing is actually available here, I couldn’t say since I’ve never seen it, but I’ve seen quite a few unpasteurized cheeses so it’s not impossible.
I’ve had the pleasure of eating Epoisses in Burgundy, where it’s made, and here in the states. They are quite different. The Epoisses in France is creamy, heavier than Brie but still spreadable, with a light nutty taste. The scent is not particularly strong, unless you’re completely unused to cheese. It’s no stronger than most other French cheeses from what I can recall. It’s very good, one of my favorite French cheeses.
I have yet to try an Epoisses in the US that I can eat. Every one I’ve gotten has had a horrible overtone of ammonia that was completely unpresent in the French cheeses. I’ve even gone so far as to quiz the cheese seller about it, and have been assured that their Epoisses is fresh, just off the boat, no ammonia smell. When it gets to my house (I have to mail order cheese like this), it’s the same old piss-scented Epoisses I’ve always gotten in the US.
Maybe Shagnasty can comment on this - if I recall, his wife is a cheese merchant. I sure would like to get some non-piss Epoisses without having to go to France.
Weird, that’s the brand I’ve bought from at least two different places. Always shows up with an overpowering ammonia smell. I’ve tried it from two different cheese places - both of which have great reputations - and I get the same thing.
Maybe I’m just overly sensitive to the ammonia thing. For what it’s worth, Mr. Athena chows it down.