la serena cheese: a stench to love
Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 09:35AM 
I’ve eaten a lot of stinky cheeses in my life, and I don’t mean politely fragrant. I'm talking stink that could revive a dead dog.
But no matter how bad they smelled, they always smelled like cheese.
That changed a couple of weeks ago when I found a pale-colored Spanish wedge tucked into the Italian section of the cheese counter at my grocery store in Silver Spring, Maryland. I picked it up, squeezed it, and took a deep whiff through the plastic wrap.
The smell gave me a jolt.
When I got it home, I peeled away the plastic to reveal a scent so strong, I leaped back.
I glared at it for a minute, sizing it up. What was that smell?
The scent was that of a lover’s tryst in the dead of August on a beach located miles from air conditioning. Add wet dog, oyster, sea brine, and oregano.
This cheese was beyond stinky, it was downright lewd.
“La Serena," or the 'calm one,' is made from the milk of merino sheep. The milk is coagulated with a vegetable rennet extracted from the artichoke thistle, which gives it its unique smell and a rich, sharp, nutty, anchovy flavor.
The cheese, which has been made for centuries by local cheese makers in southwest Spain, comes from a stretch of grassland called La Serena in the province of Extremadura. With only a population of 80,000, there are more sheep there than people.
Merino sheep
Photo by www.woolpower.se
That’s good for me, because after experiencing the salty, nutty flavor, I wanted more. But the flavor was so distinct that it seemed to overpower every wine I drank with it.
Janet Fletcher, food writer of the San Francisco Chronicle, says that it's the acidity that makes La Serena so difficult to match with wines. You can read her story here.
I'm less picky, but Fletcher enjoyed it with the 2001 Lorinon Rioja from Bodegas Breton Criadores, “made mostly of Tempranillo of moderate weight and intensity, with cinnamon and clove aromas and a zippy blackberry fruitiness that cleansed the palate after the creamy cheese.”
Got a stinky cheese recommendation? Let me know!
The white spot marks La Serena, www.wikipedia.com
Reader Comments (5)
HAHA! I loved reading your post . . . "I'm talking stink that could revive a dead dog."
We first had la serena cheese two years ago while in Spain, and, despite the aroma, we LOVED it.
Of course, I never met a cheese that I didn't love . . . and sometimes I feel the stinkier it is, the better it tastes.
GREAT post!
hey...saw this via tastespotting.com
i had la serena about four years ago and if i close my eyes, i can still remember how it tasted.
it pairs well with many wines...iirc.
livarot was the stinkest cheese that i have ever had...goes well with a glass of tokay.
Thanks, Doc Chuck! Glad you liked the posting. I know what you mean -- the stinkier, the better!
Faustian Bargain: Thanks for the recommendation. I'll give it a try!
Yeras into our marraige, my first husband developed a horrible physical condition that gave him breath that smelled like decomposing rodents.
He loved stinky cheese and I loved it when he ate his fill, as it actually made him a little less unpleasant to be around.
I finally couldn't stand it anymore and sent him packing.
25 years later I am just now learning to enjoy stinky cheese. La Serena is probably too much for me, though
Barbara: Wow, what a story. I'm glad to know you're coming back around to stinky cheese!