The Lesser-Spotted Cheeses

Photo courtesy of Third and Vine.

Jamie Mayne, the fromager at Third and Vine in Jersey City, N.J. (ThirdandVine.com), and formerly of New York's beloved Casellula, shares some of her favorite unsung cheeses.

Bavaria
Gepfeffertes Arschle
"It's from Anton Holzinger and Sennerei Zurwies at Bio-Kaserei Zurwies, and means 'peppered ass.' It's a washed-rind cheese laced with black peppercorns, so it's spicy."

Croatia
Paski Sir
"It's a gorgeous sheep's milk cheese that is released super young -- like a young cheddar or Gouda -- all the way up to an older cheese that's so hard you can barely bite into it. If you find it, at whatever age, it's absolutely worth getting. In my opinion, the older the better."

Spain
Cana de Oveja
"It's a sheep- or goat-cheese log with a dense, rich, creamy center and buttery outside ring. As the cheese matures, the outside ring gets more melty, and the inside gets dryer. It's fascinating."

England
Stinking Bishop
"The stinkiest cheese I've ever had in my entire life. It's really funky, earthy, and salty, and it's washed in perry. My husband will taste it, and he'll all but gag, while I'll give it to my chef and he gets this look of bliss on his face."