How to Remove the Smell of Époisses: A Fresh-Smelling Kitchen Guide
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One wedge of Époisses can take over an entire refrigerator. Open the door two days later and the smell hits you before you find the cheese. That pungent, socks-and-onions punch is not a sign the cheese went bad. It is the sign of a healthy washed-rind cheese doing exactly what it was made to do.
The odor spreads because Époisses is soaked in brine and brandy as it ages. That grows a bacteria called Brevibacterium linens, which makes the same sulfur compounds behind strong body odor. Those molecules are tiny and slippery, so they slip through plastic wrap and cling to fridge walls, butter, and eggs. Once your kitchen already smells, air fresheners only pile a second smell on top of the first. Fix the source, then let a clean-burning candle like our Slice of Life beeswax candle keep the room smelling fresh instead of masked.
Why throwing out the cheese does not fix it
Here is the part most people get wrong. Tossing the cheese is the easy step. It is not the step that works.
Those sulfur molecules already left the wedge. They soaked into your fridge gaskets, your drip pan, and any open food nearby. So the smell lingers for days after the cheese is gone. You have to neutralize what stayed behind, not just remove what caused it.
This matters because the odor is chemical, not just "strong." Sulfur compounds and fatty acids need something that breaks them down. A spritz of perfume in the air does nothing to the molecules stuck to your rubber door seal.
The chemistry, in plain words
Washed-rind cheeses get scrubbed with a salty liquid during aging. That feeds bacteria on the rind. The bacteria release volatile sulfur compounds as they work.
"Volatile" just means the molecules float into the air easily. That is why you smell it from across the room. The rind carries most of the punch. The creamy inside is much milder.
None of this means spoilage. A properly ripened Époisses is meant to smell loud. The trick is keeping that loudness inside a container instead of inside your whole kitchen.
Step one: contain the cheese before it spreads
Standard plastic wrap loses this fight. The molecules pass right through thin plastic over a day or two. Store-issued cardboard boxes leak even faster.
Move the cheese into an airtight glass jar with a heavy rubber gasket. Glass is non-porous, so the smell cannot soak in and escape later. Keep it away from open butter, eggs, and broth, since those absorb odor fast.
Do this the moment you get home. The longer it sits in weak packaging, the more your fridge pays for it.
Step two: deep-clean the fridge, including the parts you never touch
Scrubbing only the shelves you can see is the most common mistake. The worst odor traps hide in spots people skip.
Pull out every removable shelf and drawer. Wash them in hot water with dish detergent. Then wipe the interior walls with a baking soda paste, mixed at two parts baking soda to one part warm water.
Do not forget the rubber door gaskets and the drip pan underneath the fridge. Those hold odor long after the walls are clean. For a final pass, wipe surfaces with equal parts white vinegar and water. Vinegar breaks down the fatty acids that baking soda leaves behind.
Government guidance on stubborn fridge odors backs this basic order. You can read the food safety storage guidance here for how long items keep once your fridge is fresh again.
Step three: let natural deodorizers finish the job
After cleaning, the last traces of smell need absorbing, not scrubbing. This is where natural odor absorbers earn their spot.
Set an open container of baking soda on a shelf. Fresh coffee grounds work too, and so does activated charcoal. Leave them closed inside the fridge for 24 hours, or several days if the smell was severe.
For a fast reset, empty the fridge and leave the door open about 15 minutes so trapped air can circulate out. Then load your absorber back in and close it up.
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Once the source odor is gone, that is when a candle helps. Our Sunday Reset beeswax candle has notes of Eucalyptus, Clove, Cedar, Patchouli, and Vanilla, a clean cool-then-warm scent that suits a just-cleaned kitchen. The 40-hour size runs $32, and the 80-hour size is $65. Beeswax burns clean with no paraffin soot, so it keeps the room fresh rather than layering a smell over a smell.
Getting the smell off your hands and counters
Cheese odor clings to skin and non-porous surfaces too. Wash both with soap and warm water first.
Then add a splash of lemon juice or white vinegar. The acid neutralizes the fatty acids that plain soap misses. Rinse again and the smell lifts.
For wooden boards, a paste of baking soda scrubbed in and rinsed off works well. Wood is porous, so it needs a little more effort than glass or steel.
Why a candle comes last, not first
You might reach for a candle the second the smell hits. That is backward. Light one over an uncleaned fridge and you just get cheese plus scent, which is worse.
The order matters. Contain, clean, absorb, then light. By the last step the sulfur compounds are gone, and a clean beeswax flame simply keeps the air pleasant.
Paraffin candles release their own soot and unstable compounds. Beeswax is a single-ingredient wax with a wooden wick and phthalate-free scent, so it adds nothing you have to clean up later. Browse the full beeswax candle collection to match a scent to your kitchen.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Époisses smell so intensely strong?
It is a washed-rind cheese bathed in brine and brandy as it ages. That grows Brevibacterium linens bacteria, which release pungent sulfur compounds. The loud smell is a mark of a healthy, ripe cheese, not spoilage.
How do I get the Époisses smell out of my fridge?
Wash all removable parts in hot detergent water, wipe the walls and gaskets with a baking soda paste, then finish with equal parts white vinegar and water. Add a bowl of baking soda or coffee grounds for a day to absorb the rest. Once it is clean, our Slice of Life candle with its fresh mint and eucalyptus notes keeps the room smelling crisp.
Can I store Époisses without stinking up the whole fridge?
Yes. Seal it inside a heavy-duty airtight glass container with a locking rubber gasket. Keep it away from open butter, eggs, and broth, which soak up odor quickly.
Does the rind smell worse than the inside?
Yes. The washed rind carries most of the heavy sulfur aroma. The interior paste is milder, creamier, and much softer in smell.
Will a scented candle cover the cheese smell on its own?
No. A candle over an uncleaned fridge just mixes two smells. Neutralize the source first, then a clean-burning beeswax candle from our candle collection keeps the fresh air fresh.
The takeaway
Removing the smell of Époisses comes down to order: contain the cheese in glass, deep-clean the fridge including hidden traps, then absorb the last traces with baking soda or coffee grounds. Only after the source is gone should you light anything. For that final fresh finish, the Sunday Reset beeswax candle ($32 for the 40-hour size) burns clean with no soot. MBur candles earn glowing reviews from customers who noticed better air quality and no headaches compared to mass-market brands.
Ready to keep your kitchen smelling fresh for good? Shop the Sunday Reset beeswax candle.
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