Vorarlberg mountain cheese
Vorarlberger Bergkäse is a regional cheese specialty from the Austrian state of Vorarlberg protected by European designation of origin . He is related to Gruyère .
Manufacturing
Vorarlberger Bergkäse is made exclusively from natural raw milk in accordance with the specifications that have been defined for the protection of the term and only in alpine dairies in the Bregenzerwald , in the Great and Small Walsertal , in the Leiblachtal and the communities of the Pfänderstock and in the Rhine valley . The manufacture may only be carried out by means of manual production using traditional methods. Strict quality regulations apply to the raw milk used: Only farms with predominantly grassland farming without silage production or feeding are allowed to provide milk for Vorarlberger Bergkäse ( silage-free milk ). This must also be delivered to the dairy at least once a day and processed there immediately.
The untreated milk is partially skimmed and thickened with natural rennet and a typical lactic acid and whey culture. The curd is heated and pressed. The loaves are then treated in a salt bath for two to three days. The ripening time is three to six months with high humidity. During this time the loaves are treated with salt water.
properties
Vorarlberger Bergkäse has a brownish, dry rind. The dough is supple, firm to hard, and also crumbly in the case of long-ripened varieties. The maturation period is 3 to 24 months. It has a few holes about the size of a pea. Its taste is strong and spicy.
Individual evidence
- ^ Protected Austrian names on the website of the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture .
- ↑ a b c Entry in the Database Of Origin & Registration of the European Commission
- ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 1065/97 (PDF) of the European Commission of June 12, 1997, with which the name Vorarlberger Bergkäse was added in the appendix of Regulation No. 1107/96.
- ↑ Christian Gamsjaeger: Vorarlberger Bergkäse characterization based on selected chemical parameters. In: Online catalog of the University Library for Natural Resources and Life Sciences. September 1995, accessed November 5, 2015 .
- ↑ Vorarlberger Bergkäse PDO ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Description on the website of the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture.
- ↑ Brigitte Engelmann, Peter Holler: Das Feinschmecker-Handbuch Käse. Ullmann, Königswinter 2008, ISBN 978-3-8331-5023-4 , p. 311
