Cheese Database

Limburger vs Pálpusztai

Limburger, field guide plate
Limburger, photographed

Limburger

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-soft
Type
Washed rind
Rind
Washed rind
Country
Netherlands

Limburger is a semi-soft washed-rind cheese from the Netherlands. It is made from cow's milk and shaped in small bricks with a moist orange rind. The smell is famously strong, while the paste inside is milder than that smell suggests. Salt, moisture, and the washed surface define it more than a sharp aged bite. Shops sell it for bread and hearty plates, not as a hard cheese for grating.

Pálpusztai

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Soft
Type
Washed rind
Rind
Washed rind
Country
Hungary

Pálpusztai is a soft cow's milk cheese from Hungary, ripened with a washed rind until the smell turns strong. The pieces are small, the surface is sticky and yellow to orange, and the paste inside is pale and rich. A ripe center can slump on the knife and almost dissolve on the tongue. Hungarian shops treat it as a bold table cheese, not as a mild slicing cheese for everyday sandwiches. The aroma belongs to the style, so a powerful smell alone does not mean the piece has spoiled.