Gamalost

Gamalost (also gammalost or Gammelost ), literally translated as " old cheese ", is a Norwegian sour milk cheese with specific sharp, full-bodied taste. It can be stored a long time without cooling. The taste varies throughout the storage period.

The cheese is matured from skimmed milk curds Auer with the Schimmelart Mucor mucedo. He should have yellow-brown color with a yellow-white core and developed a strong, distinctive taste and a solid structure. Then it contains less than 1 % fat, and about 50 % protein.

It is believed that the name " Gamalost " (literally " old cheese " ) relate to the production on pastures and the long maturation period. It can also, therefore, come Gamalost that is one of the oldest known Norwegian cheese.

It is investigated whether Gamalost has a positive effect on health. There is strong evidence that the cheese contains a substance that lowers blood pressure.

" A frukost utan he Gamalost som eit kyss utan kjærleik. "

" A breakfast without Gamalost is like a kiss without love. "

Production

Previously, the cheese on pasture or courtyards was produced and took a long maturation period of several months (eg, from summer to Christmas), in which he accepted mold from the storage room. It was between three months and one year.

On the mountain pastures anxious milkmaids cheese making. The actual production was a labor-intensive process. First sour milk had to be made ​​. There were cauldrons used, often with a 150 liter volume. There were two main variants of the manufacture, Hardanger and Sogne method. In both, the milk was first heated until the curd separated from the whey. In the follow- up procedures differed somewhat. When the cheese was cooked and filled into containers, the ripening process began. When the cheese was firm, he was put on a board or board. This was often covered with birch bark, fern or grass blades, to get enough air under the cheese. Usually, the cheese was still covered with towel and sponge, so it does not dry too quickly. After a few days mold began to grow on the cheese. That was hard work because the cheeses were great and could each weigh 8 kg. The further maturation process was less labor intensive.

In today's industrial production, the culture is added and the Gamalost matures in just 11 to 13 days ( or four weeks? ).

Cottage cheese was wrapped in linen, packed in wooden crates and straw and then stored under the bed.

History

In the early 1980s there were few Norwegians who Gamalost ate. But after the artist Erik Bye began in 1983 in a television program for Gamalost, the cheese became popular again. It was founded a Norwegian Gamalost club, which now has about 2,000 members. The journalist John Moberg, who was Gamalost president for many years, in 1987 wrote a book about Gamalost. In 1995 was held the first Gamalost hard in Vik, a cultural festival that exists to this day.

Gamalost was awarded the Olavsrosa, a quality mark by the foundation " Norsk Kulturarv " ( " Norwegian Heritage ").

Gamalost Vik

Around 1900, many smaller dairies trying to enter the Gamalost production. Most failed, but one of the most successful was Brita Ligtvor from Vik. She won the silver medal in 1909 for Gamalost on an agricultural exhibition in Bergen. Today the TINE Dairy is one of the few dairies of Vik in Norway that produce Gamalost. Annual production is around 150 to 200 tons. Gamalost Vik is a protected product name for Gamalost of the Tine Dairy in Vik.