Old cheese

The Newcastle Journal proudly reports the work of local university scientists in identifying - and naming - eight microbes that make reblochon, a cheese from the French Alps, what it is.

Professor Michael Goodfellow and his team, funded by the EU, used DNA techniques, and the microbes are now officially clustered as "Mycetocola Reblochoni". "It has always been thought the bacteria cheese makers were putting in at the start of the process gave reblochon its distinctive flavour. What our research actually showed was this new group of bacteria were responsible for the ripening process, influencing the taste, texture and smell of the cheese."

Reblochon is a "smear-ripened cheese" and it was previously thought that the washing of the rind with a salt solution produced brevibacterium linens, which was what made the cheeses particularly strong-smelling. You find that bacteria on human skin. Now it seems, the smell may becoming from inside rather than outside.

PS: If you're off shopping and feel driven to a little smear-ripened something for the Xmas cheeseboard, consider also Port Salut, Livarot, Taleggio, Limburger (one beloved by my mate Tim), and the Irish contribution to the genre, Gubbeen.