Smear-Ripened Cheeses are softer cheeses that were made in lowland areas. These were cheeses that didn't need as long a storage life, as they were being made very close to where the markets where (cheeses made in highlands and the mountains often had to be able to last through the winter, until passageways down to the markets were safely passable again.)
A bacteria often the bacteria called "Brevibacterium linens", is smeared onto the rind of the cheese.
While aging, the cheese's rind is washed to discourage mould growth and to give lots of moisture to encourage growth of the bacteria. The type of wash used is designed to create both a pH level which is beneficial for the type of bacteria that you want to encourage, while being hostile to bacteria that you want to discourage.
Port du Salut and Trappist cheeses are Smear-Ripened, as is Munster.
This is often confused with Washed-Rind Cheeses; with Washed-Rind Cheeses, however, the goal is to limit all bacterial growth and encourage mould.
See Also
Surface-Ripened Cheeses
Other entries for Smear-Ripened Cheeses
Smear-Ripened Cheeses
Other entries for Cheese
Affinage, American Cheeses, Casu Marzu, Cheese Rinds, Creamery, Double/Triple-Cream Cheese, Extra-Hard Cheeses, Firm Cheeses, Goat's Milk Cheeses, Mexican Cheeses, Pate (of a Cheese), Processed Cheese, Queso Fundido, Rennet, Semi-Firm Cheeses, Sheep's Milk Cheeses, Skim-Milk Cheeses, Soft Cheeses, Surface-Ripened Cheeses, Sweet Curd Cheeses, The Crumblies, Truckle, Washed-Curd Cheeses, Washed-Rind Cheeses, Yak Cheese, Yeel Cheese
Other entries for Dairy
Butterfat, Butter, Milk, Nondairy Topping
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