Limburger cheese is a cheese that originated in the historical Duchy of Limburg, which is now divided between modern-day Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Limburger is especially known for its pungent odor. The bacterium used to ferment Limburger cheese and other rind-washed cheeses is Brevibacterium linens; this same bacterium is found on human skin and is partially responsible for human body odor.
Herve cheese is a particular kind of Limburger cheese produced in the Land of Herve.
Limburger cheese and its characteristic odor are a frequent butt of jokes and gags. In 2006 (15 years ago) a study showing that the malaria mosquito (Anopheles gambiae) is attracted equally to the smell of Limburger cheese and to the smell of human feet earned the Ig Nobel Prize in the area of biology.
Despite its birth location, most of the Limburger cheese made today comes from Germany, and has been since about the nineteenth century. It was first produced by Rudolph Benkerts in 1867 (154 years ago) in his cellar from pasteurized goat’s milk. A few years later, there were about 25 factories that produced this cheese. The Chalet Cheese Cooperative, located in Monroe, Wisconsin, is the one company which makes this cheese in North America.
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