Olomouc's Stinky Cheese

Olomoucké tvarůžky is the famous, or infamous, stinky Czech cheese. It has been produced in the town of Loštice, in the Olomouc region, since 1876. It is a gummy, yellowish cheese that is incredibly pungent. That's probably because it is aged under hunks of meat. It has no preservatives and, at only 0.6%, is very low in fat. The usual way to eat tvarůžky is on bread with butter and onions. I like it but it really is an acquired taste. Fried tvarůžky doesn't have quite as bad a smell. I've also had melted tvarůžky wrapped in a potato pancake which is quite tasty. In July 2010, the EU granted Olomoucké tvarůžky with Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status. So only cheese from Loštice has the right to be called Olomoucké tvarůžky.

In the Olomouc Visitor's Center there is even a tvarůžky vending machine. I just had to get a picture of it.