July 12, 2026 • 11 mins
Cheesy and Fondue learn cheese and smells. We talk about what your nose is doing when you eat cheese. We discus why stinky cheese smells worse before you eat it. We find out how to taste like a pro and we talk a little about manure aged cheese. And of course, we tell a very cheesy joke!
Find us at www.justcheesy.com and everywhere you enjoy social media! https://linktr.ee/JustCheesy
***There is no cheesy sponsor for this episode. Do you want to trade some cheese for a host read ad? Contact us at info@justcheesy.com***
Why is cheddar the most dangerous of all the cheeses? Because it is very sharp!
Show Notes
https://askthescientists.com/linking-taste-smell/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retronasal_smell
https://www.snexplores.org/article/brain-combine-taste-smell-flavor
https://www.myfermentation.com/dairy-and-eggs/taste-cheese-like-curd-nerd-zm0z20suzols/
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/scientists-create-detailed-map-odor-receptors
https://www.cheeseprofessor.com/blog/4-expert-tips-how-to-taste-cheese
Academy of Cheese / How to Taste Cheese Guide
Marin French Cheese / Cheese Tasting 101
Cabot Creamery / Why Does Cheese Smell
Science Insights / What Does Bad Cheese Smell Like: Spoiled vs Stinky
Cheese Scientist / Ammoniated Cheese
Culture Cheese Magazine / Ask the Monger: How Do I Learn to Taste Cheese Like an Expert
Washington State University / Why Do Some Cheeses Stink
Mentioned in this episode:
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Just Cheesy the podcastpresented by Just Cheesy Productions.
Hi there. I'm your host, Fondue.
I'm Cheesy.
In this week's episode, we'regoing to learn all about cheese and
smells. We're going to talkabout what your nose is doing when
you eat cheese. We're going todiscuss why stinky cheese smells
worse before you eat it. We'regoing to find out how to taste like
(00:25):
a pro. And we're going to talka little bit about manure aged cheese.
Of course, we're going to tellour very cheesy jokes. Tuned for
The Nose Kno on Just Cheesy the podcast. I think I'm gonna start
this episode with a big surprise.
Really?
The majority of what youexperience as flavor when you eat
cheese is not coming from yourtaste buds.
(00:45):
What?
That's right. It's coming fromyour nose.
Really?
According to Ask the Scientistand multiple food science sources,
people give numbers like 75 to90% of perceived flavor is coming
from smell rather than taste.
Wow.
According to Ask theScientist, the exact ratio has never
been precisely meas because areliable method has not been developed.
(01:06):
What is known is that smellcontributes to flavor in two ways.
Really?
And now we're going to getinto the science portion of my pronunciation.
Scientists, I am sorry. So thefirst way that smell contributes
to flavor is called orthonasalolfaction. This is the smell you
get by sniffing directlythrough your nostrils before you
(01:28):
eat. According to Ask theScientist, this primes your brain
for what is coming. It tellsyour brain what to expect. It actually
alters your your perception ofthe flavor before you take a single
bite.
It does.
They say. This is actually whycheese professionals smell a piece
before tasting it.
They do?
According to the Cheese Grottotasting site, breaking a piece of
cheese in half right underyour nose releases aroma compounds
(01:50):
that would not otherwise bedetectable from.
A cut piece if you put it upyour nose.
I can't imagine breaking off apiece of cheese and sticking it under
my nose, but I mean, if itworks, it works. It's kind of like
swirling wine to release theoxygen before you drink it.
Sure.
So now the second way iscalled retronasal olfaction. Wikipedia
and other food sources sayretronasal olfaction is a perception
(02:14):
of odor molecules that travelfrom inside your mouth, backward
up through your nasal passageswhile you chew and swallow.
Oh, my.
Fermentation magazine cheesetasting guide says as you chew, you
exhale through your nose.
Okay.
This pushes volatile aromacompounds up through the back of
your throat. To your olfactoryreceptors. They say this is why the
(02:35):
flavor of cheese deepens andchanges as you chew. The first impression
is from your tongue.
Tongue.
And the full experience isfrom your nose working in reverse.
You basically smell it oncegoing in and once going out. In a
2025 study published inScience News, researchers at the
Karolinska Institutet inStockholm found that retronasal smells
(02:57):
produce brain activitypatterns in the insula part of the
brain. This integrates tasteand smell, and it closely mirrors
the corresponding taste.
Okay.
They said smelling somethingsavory produced brain patterns similar
to umami tast. The smell ofsomething sweet produced patterns
and a similar sweet taste.
Yeah.
And according to theresearchers, smell and taste are
(03:17):
fused in the brain earlier andmore completely than previously understood.
That's amazing.
It really is.
Yeah.
Now, this next fact I think ispretty interesting. And if you don't
like stinky cheese, this mightbe a solution for you.
Oh.
According to the Marin FrenchCheese tasting guide and multiple
professional sources, volatilearoma compounds are the molecules
(03:38):
that your nose detects. Andbelieve it or not, cold cheese tastes
like almost nothing.
Like nothing.
Yep, that's right. They saythat heat increases the volatility
of the molecules.
It does.
And cold actually suppressesit. So letting cheese come to room
temperature before tasting,they say here, is not optional.
Really.
It should sit out for at leastan hour. According to the Fermentation
(04:01):
magazine guide, you shouldwarm a piece of cheese between your
fingers for a few secondsbefore smelling it. Body heat actually
is enough to release the aromacompounds that would otherwise stay
locked in the fat.
Okay.
So if. If you've been eatingcold cheese your entire life, it
will definitely tastedifferent at room temperature.
(04:21):
Really?
They see here not just alittle bit, but a lot.
Wow.
(05:15):
No maker of cold cheese is asponsor, but if they were, their
ad would go right here. I feellike this next part is another can
you believe it? Moment.
Really?
Stinky cheese smells worsebefore you eat it.
It does.
Here we go with science again.This is the retronasal olfaction
phenomenon in action.According to Cabot Creamery and other
(05:36):
SC sources, when you smellcheese from the outside, you're getting
a concentrated hit of all thevolatile compounds all at once through
your nostrils.
Wow.
But when you put the cheese inyour mouth and you eat it, the compounds
are distributed more slowlythrough the retronasal pathway. It
gets mixed with fat, salt,protein, and texture signals from
(05:56):
your tongue, and it getsprocessed by a brain that is now
combining multiple inputs atonce. So this results in a smell
that registers as complex andinteresting rather than overwhelming.
Wikipedia as the bacteriaresponsible for Limburger's notorious
smell is something we'vetalked about before. It's called
Brevibacterium linens.
Oh, yeah.
Be linens.
(06:17):
Bee linen.
This is the same bacteriafound on. We've talked about this
before.
Yeah, we have.
It's found on human skin, andit's responsible for things like,
I don't know, body odor andfoot odor. So if you think Limburger
smells like feet, it's becauseit's made with the same bacteria
that's on your feet. Believeit or not, Cabot Creamery says that
(06:40):
the phenomenon that's makingthis stuff smell bad outside and
not too bad inside is calledbackward smelling.
Really?
The same compound thatproduces an alarming experience on
the outside produces a rich,savory, retro nasal one.
Amazing.
But how do you know if it'sbad or just stinky?
Oh, how?
According to Science Insights,the way to distinguish a naturally
(07:00):
stinky cheese from a spoiledone is depth.
Depth.
They say a naturally stinkycheese smells complex. They say there's
something underneath the funk.Spoiled cheese tends to hit you with
a single flag, that unpleasantnote usually ammonia acid or something
chemical. According to thecheese Scientist, if a soft cheese
smells aggressively ofammonia, unwrapping it and letting
(07:24):
it breathe at room temperaturefor 15 to 20 minutes will often dissipate
the smell. If it persistsafter that the cheese is past its
peak.
Throw it away.
Let's say you want to tastelike a pro.
I do.
The Academy of Cheese'sstructured approach to tasting has
four stages.
It does.
You first look at it. Thecolor, the texture, the rind condition.
You then smell it. The Academyseparates nose flavors from mouth
(07:46):
flavors in its tasting forms,calling nose aromas complex flavors
and tongue sensations simple flavors.
Okay.
Third, you taste it. Yeah,that's my favorite part.
Yeah.
According to the cheeseProfessor's expert guide. I think
I've been doing this allwrong. They say, as you chew, gently
exhale out through your noseto push aroma compounds up, up through
(08:08):
the retronasal pathway. Andthen fourth, you consider the finish.
According to the ATIMA cheesetasting guide, after swallowing,
keep your mouth closed andbreathe out slowly to experience
the full retronasalaftertaste. According to Culture
Cheese magazine, a cheesemaker who helped build a sensory
evaluation program for acheddar producer found that professional
(08:31):
tasting vocabulary wasactually less useful than personal
flavor memory. Pastriesresponded better to descriptors like
cheez its or hard boiled eggsor roasted pineapple or feet. Well,
I wouldn't know what thosetaste like. Whatever they're saying
that those were the thingsthey responded better to than technical
terms like butyric acid,sulfur, or Helveticus.
(08:53):
What's Helveticus?
Oh, you really want to test metoday, don't you?
Oh, yeah.
Wikipedia says thatLactobacillus helveticus is a gram
positive lactic acidproducing, rod shaped bacterium of
the gen Lactobacillus.
Good job.
It's used to make cheeses likeSwiss cheese and Emmental.
Wow.
And I guess you would say it'sused to prevent bitterness and it
(09:15):
produces a nutty flavor. So ifyou were to say it tasted nutty or
bitter, you would probably bedescribing Helveticus. That's just
my opinion.
Okay.
The same source says that overintellectualizing, the tasting process
basically removes any personalconnection to the cheese.
Yeah, it does.
And we always think ofLimburger as a stinky cheese. But
(09:37):
there is another Norwegiancheese called Gamalost. Gamalost
gamma means old and ost meanscheese. According to lifespan.com,
it's one of the oldestcheeses. And they say, and I quote,
when a Norwegian grandfatherwas asked how to make it, he said,
take some cheese, stuff it inan old sock, bury it in manure under
(09:59):
the barn, and when it's ready,it'll crawl out. Now, I don't know
that this was true. They sayit was actually skim milk allowed
to sour in wooden buckets. Itwas heated in pots. Then the herd
separates. They drain the whey.
Okay.
It was then placed on a warmshelf in a mountain cheese hut. Then
it was taken down to the farmwith the animals to age. It's hand
(10:20):
rubbed daily. The belief isthe more aged, the more potent the
immune benefits. They say it'sone of the stinkiest cheeses around.
Duh.
The rumor about it being agedin manure, maybe just a rumor.
I'm ready for a joke fondue.
Okay. Why did Limburger getits feelings hurt when it joined
the competition?
I don't know. Why?
Because everyone immediatelysaid it. It stinks. Get it? Because
(10:44):
Limburger stinks.
Yeah, it was cute.
I know it was cute and alittle bit cheesy. Thanks for listening
to just teasing the podcastepisode. The nose knows.
Thank you.
Apparently we have to let ourcheese warm up. Yep, we're gonna
break it under our nose. We'regonna chew slowly and exhale.
Yum.
Do us a favor, please.
Yes, please,
(11:04):
like, subscribe, anything youcan to promote the podcast
and stay cheesy everybody
Just Cheesy the podcastpresented by Just Cheesy Productions.
Hi there. I'm your host, Fondue.
I'm Cheesy.
In this week's episode, we'regoing to learn all about cheese and
smells. We're going to talkabout what your nose is doing when
you eat cheese. We're going todiscuss why stinky cheese smells
worse before you eat it. We'regoing to find out how to taste like
(00:25):
a pro. And we're going to talka little bit about manure aged cheese.
Of course, we're going to tellour very cheesy jokes. Tuned for
The Nose Kno on Just Cheesy the podcast. I think I'm gonna start
this episode with a big surprise.
Really?
The majority of what youexperience as flavor when you eat
cheese is not coming from yourtaste buds.
(00:45):
What?
That's right. It's coming fromyour nose.
Really?
According to Ask the Scientistand multiple food science sources,
people give numbers like 75 to90% of perceived flavor is coming
from smell rather than taste.
Wow.
According to Ask theScientist, the exact ratio has never
been precisely meas because areliable method has not been developed.
(01:06):
What is known is that smellcontributes to flavor in two ways.
Really?
And now we're going to getinto the science portion of my pronunciation.
Scientists, I am sorry. So thefirst way that smell contributes
to flavor is called orthonasalolfaction. This is the smell you
get by sniffing directlythrough your nostrils before you
(01:28):
eat. According to Ask theScientist, this primes your brain
for what is coming. It tellsyour brain what to expect. It actually
alters your your perception ofthe flavor before you take a single
bite.
It does.
They say. This is actually whycheese professionals smell a piece
before tasting it.
They do?
According to the Cheese Grottotasting site, breaking a piece of
cheese in half right underyour nose releases aroma compounds
(01:50):
that would not otherwise bedetectable from.
A cut piece if you put it upyour nose.
I can't imagine breaking off apiece of cheese and sticking it under
my nose, but I mean, if itworks, it works. It's kind of like
swirling wine to release theoxygen before you drink it.
Sure.
So now the second way iscalled retronasal olfaction. Wikipedia
and other food sources sayretronasal olfaction is a perception
(02:14):
of odor molecules that travelfrom inside your mouth, backward
up through your nasal passageswhile you chew and swallow.
Oh, my.
Fermentation magazine cheesetasting guide says as you chew, you
exhale through your nose.
Okay.
This pushes volatile aromacompounds up through the back of
your throat. To your olfactoryreceptors. They say this is why the
(02:35):
flavor of cheese deepens andchanges as you chew. The first impression
is from your tongue.
Tongue.
And the full experience isfrom your nose working in reverse.
You basically smell it oncegoing in and once going out. In a
2025 study published inScience News, researchers at the
Karolinska Institutet inStockholm found that retronasal smells
(02:57):
produce brain activitypatterns in the insula part of the
brain. This integrates tasteand smell, and it closely mirrors
the corresponding taste.
Okay.
They said smelling somethingsavory produced brain patterns similar
to umami tast. The smell ofsomething sweet produced patterns
and a similar sweet taste.
Yeah.
And according to theresearchers, smell and taste are
(03:17):
fused in the brain earlier andmore completely than previously understood.
That's amazing.
It really is.
Yeah.
Now, this next fact I think ispretty interesting. And if you don't
like stinky cheese, this mightbe a solution for you.
Oh.
According to the Marin FrenchCheese tasting guide and multiple
professional sources, volatilearoma compounds are the molecules
(03:38):
that your nose detects. Andbelieve it or not, cold cheese tastes
like almost nothing.
Like nothing.
Yep, that's right. They saythat heat increases the volatility
of the molecules.
It does.
And cold actually suppressesit. So letting cheese come to room
temperature before tasting,they say here, is not optional.
Really.
It should sit out for at leastan hour. According to the Fermentation
(04:01):
magazine guide, you shouldwarm a piece of cheese between your
fingers for a few secondsbefore smelling it. Body heat actually
is enough to release the aromacompounds that would otherwise stay
locked in the fat.
Okay.
So if. If you've been eatingcold cheese your entire life, it
will definitely tastedifferent at room temperature.
(04:21):
Really?
They see here not just alittle bit, but a lot.
Wow.
(05:15):
No maker of cold cheese is asponsor, but if they were, their
ad would go right here. I feellike this next part is another can
you believe it? Moment.
Really?
Stinky cheese smells worsebefore you eat it.
It does.
Here we go with science again.This is the retronasal olfaction
phenomenon in action.According to Cabot Creamery and other
(05:36):
SC sources, when you smellcheese from the outside, you're getting
a concentrated hit of all thevolatile compounds all at once through
your nostrils.
Wow.
But when you put the cheese inyour mouth and you eat it, the compounds
are distributed more slowlythrough the retronasal pathway. It
gets mixed with fat, salt,protein, and texture signals from
(05:56):
your tongue, and it getsprocessed by a brain that is now
combining multiple inputs atonce. So this results in a smell
that registers as complex andinteresting rather than overwhelming.
Wikipedia as the bacteriaresponsible for Limburger's notorious
smell is something we'vetalked about before. It's called
Brevibacterium linens.
Oh, yeah.
Be linens.
(06:17):
Bee linen.
This is the same bacteriafound on. We've talked about this
before.
Yeah, we have.
It's found on human skin, andit's responsible for things like,
I don't know, body odor andfoot odor. So if you think Limburger
smells like feet, it's becauseit's made with the same bacteria
that's on your feet. Believeit or not, Cabot Creamery says that
(06:40):
the phenomenon that's makingthis stuff smell bad outside and
not too bad inside is calledbackward smelling.
Really?
The same compound thatproduces an alarming experience on
the outside produces a rich,savory, retro nasal one.
Amazing.
But how do you know if it'sbad or just stinky?
Oh, how?
According to Science Insights,the way to distinguish a naturally
(07:00):
stinky cheese from a spoiledone is depth.
Depth.
They say a naturally stinkycheese smells complex. They say there's
something underneath the funk.Spoiled cheese tends to hit you with
a single flag, that unpleasantnote usually ammonia acid or something
chemical. According to thecheese Scientist, if a soft cheese
smells aggressively ofammonia, unwrapping it and letting
(07:24):
it breathe at room temperaturefor 15 to 20 minutes will often dissipate
the smell. If it persistsafter that the cheese is past its
peak.
Throw it away.
Let's say you want to tastelike a pro.
I do.
The Academy of Cheese'sstructured approach to tasting has
four stages.
It does.
You first look at it. Thecolor, the texture, the rind condition.
You then smell it. The Academyseparates nose flavors from mouth
(07:46):
flavors in its tasting forms,calling nose aromas complex flavors
and tongue sensations simple flavors.
Okay.
Third, you taste it. Yeah,that's my favorite part.
Yeah.
According to the cheeseProfessor's expert guide. I think
I've been doing this allwrong. They say, as you chew, gently
exhale out through your noseto push aroma compounds up, up through
(08:08):
the retronasal pathway. Andthen fourth, you consider the finish.
According to the ATIMA cheesetasting guide, after swallowing,
keep your mouth closed andbreathe out slowly to experience
the full retronasalaftertaste. According to Culture
Cheese magazine, a cheesemaker who helped build a sensory
evaluation program for acheddar producer found that professional
(08:31):
tasting vocabulary wasactually less useful than personal
flavor memory. Pastriesresponded better to descriptors like
cheez its or hard boiled eggsor roasted pineapple or feet. Well,
I wouldn't know what thosetaste like. Whatever they're saying
that those were the thingsthey responded better to than technical
terms like butyric acid,sulfur, or Helveticus.
(08:53):
What's Helveticus?
Oh, you really want to test metoday, don't you?
Oh, yeah.
Wikipedia says thatLactobacillus helveticus is a gram
positive lactic acidproducing, rod shaped bacterium of
the gen Lactobacillus.
Good job.
It's used to make cheeses likeSwiss cheese and Emmental.
Wow.
And I guess you would say it'sused to prevent bitterness and it
(09:15):
produces a nutty flavor. So ifyou were to say it tasted nutty or
bitter, you would probably bedescribing Helveticus. That's just
my opinion.
Okay.
The same source says that overintellectualizing, the tasting process
basically removes any personalconnection to the cheese.
Yeah, it does.
And we always think ofLimburger as a stinky cheese. But
(09:37):
there is another Norwegiancheese called Gamalost. Gamalost
gamma means old and ost meanscheese. According to lifespan.com,
it's one of the oldestcheeses. And they say, and I quote,
when a Norwegian grandfatherwas asked how to make it, he said,
take some cheese, stuff it inan old sock, bury it in manure under
(09:59):
the barn, and when it's ready,it'll crawl out. Now, I don't know
that this was true. They sayit was actually skim milk allowed
to sour in wooden buckets. Itwas heated in pots. Then the herd
separates. They drain the whey.
Okay.
It was then placed on a warmshelf in a mountain cheese hut. Then
it was taken down to the farmwith the animals to age. It's hand
(10:20):
rubbed daily. The belief isthe more aged, the more potent the
immune benefits. They say it'sone of the stinkiest cheeses around.
Duh.
The rumor about it being agedin manure, maybe just a rumor.
I'm ready for a joke fondue.
Okay. Why did Limburger getits feelings hurt when it joined
the competition?
I don't know. Why?
Because everyone immediatelysaid it. It stinks. Get it? Because
(10:44):
Limburger stinks.
Yeah, it was cute.
I know it was cute and alittle bit cheesy. Thanks for listening
to just teasing the podcastepisode. The nose knows.
Thank you.
Apparently we have to let ourcheese warm up. Yep, we're gonna
break it under our nose. We'regonna chew slowly and exhale.
Yum.
Do us a favor, please.
Yes, please,
(11:04):
like, subscribe, anything youcan to promote the podcast
and stay cheesy everybody
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