Cheese Talks

Tag: Denmark

  • #CheeseTrail2020

    #CheeseTrail2020

    As many people spent the summer on ‘staycation’ due to covid-19, an idea ocurred to me. Where would Danes find an overview of all cheese experiences worth visiting in Denmark? Such a thing didn’t exist – and therefore I created the #CheeseTrail2020.

    Follow the goat signs which lead the way to Lykkelund Goat Dairy on the island Bornholm. Here you can enjoy a break in the café, taste the ice cream or cheese made of milk from the goats and have a chat with the two ladies behind it all.

    New map leads the way

    My first thought about cheese experiences went to the dairies. Many have small shops open to the public or even cafés where you can enjoy their cheeses. But what about cheese shops and farm shops? And what about the cozy places that serve a sublime cheese experience?

    As mentioned, that map didn’t exist, so I decided to make it myself 🙂 With the help of the cheese network, the map now contains more than 140 places (dairies, cheese shops, farm shops, restaurants and sights). The card is never finished. New places will come if I meet some myself – or others tip me.

    You can see the map right here. (Right now it’s in Danish, but I’m sure you’ll get the idea). If your way passes Denmark, you can save the link and use it along the way to check out local cheese experiences – and get driving directions.

    Milking goats
    Visit Claus and Summer at Copenhagen Goat Milk.
    Taste and buy their cheeses and meet the couple behind this small farm dairy.

    Have an enriching talk and a good bite

    If you like to have a chat with the people who make the cheese, sell the cheese or serve the cheese, then there is plenty of opportunity for that (as long as you avoid the most busy time). Remember to ask, wonder and be curious about their story!

    Find a comfortable spot in a soft sofa at Our Market (in Farum or Frederiksberg) and enjoy a bite of well matured comté etc. and enjoy the informal French atmosphere which prevails in the shop, which is also a café and warehouse at the same time.

    Never ending process

    This is the Danish #CheeseTrail2020 – and so far (mid August) the map has been seen 6.000 times and still counting.

    I’m now working on a version 2.0 for next year. Larger reach, more fun and more action based.

    Please inspire me: Do you know other cheese trails around the world? Please write a comment – I will really appreciate it. Thanks.

  • Danbo – Denmark’s national cheese

    Danbo – Denmark’s national cheese

    In Denmark, we have a cheese which is eaten more than any other cheese. Many people even eat it on bread for breakfast – despite its particular odeur of smelly feet. The name of this type is Danbo. Export of this cheese is quite small – I guess you have to be Danish to really understand and appreciate it 😊

    Since October 2017, it has carried the PGI label (Protected Geographical Indication). This is the third Danish PGI cheese (the others being danablu (blue mould) and esrom (a red smear-ripened cheese).

    Danbo
    ‘Beskyttet Geografisk Betegnelse’ is the Danish translation of ‘Protected Geographical Indication’.

    Particularly Danish

    This very Danish cheese was born with inspiration from abroad (as it is the case of most Danish cheeses).

    In 1896, a young and talented cheesemaker Rasmus Nielsen received a travel scholarship from the state to study cheesemaking abroad. He learned a bit of German, packed the suitcase and went to East Prussia, close to the Russian border. This area of vast plains with grassing cows was famous for its high quality cheeses. Like a dry sponge in water, he absorbed inspiration from the small dairies in the area. He went on to Holland where he picked up more inspiration and knowledge from the local cheesemakers.

    Back in Denmark after travelling around for half a year he gathered all impressions into a new cheese – out of the cheese vat came a square cheese washed with a mix of bacterial and yeast cultures.

    Danbo
    A classical ‘ostemad’: A slice of danbo on rye bread or as shown here on stone age bread. Photo: Ditte Ingemann, from my cheese book ‘OST på Bordet’ (in Danish)

    The Danish Way

    Cheese makers talk about ‘the Danish method’ and refer to the smear-ripening of danbo and other Danish cheeses. The selected bacterias and yeast cultures help the cheese to ripen and give taste and smell. In fact, this type of cheese has a quite strong ‘odeur’ (you know it when you open the fridge and smell it immediately 🙂 )

    The cheese has a high water content which gives a soft texture and makes it easy to slice.

    Danbo
    Not so typical – but yet a good pairing: Rye bread with a slice of danbo topped with avocado and rocket salad

    What does the PGI mean?

    With the PGI label (Protected Geographical Indication), danbo is in the same group as for instance tomme de Savoie IGP and emmental de Savoie IGP.

    For danbo it means that it must be produced in Denmark. The taste should be ‘mild, with a bit of acidity, aromatic and with the typical taste from the smear-ripening’. You are allowed to add caraway as long as the cheese gets the taste and smell of the aromatic seeds.

    Danbo is found with various maturations. The taste goes from mild to very strong!

    Danbo
    BGB