Bergkäse Alpine

Bergkäse Alpine cheese is a Swiss hard pressed cheese made with raw unpasteurised cows milk. The word “Berkäse “ literally means “mountain cheese” in German and refers to a number of cheeses all made in the Alpine region whether that be in Germany, Switzerland or Austria.

Berkäse cheeses are not a protected designation eg:PDO status, which limits the name to the cheese to a specific area but rather a type of large round hard cheese with almost no holes and an enticing nutty taste. The very best is produced in the summer months when the cows eat lots of herbs up on the steep meadows, while hay for the winter feed is made on the lower pastures.

This Bergkäse is made high in the Swiss Alpine region where the cows milk is heated but still remains unpasteurised so therefore none of the natural herby taste is lost from the milk. The traditional cheese making process in copper vats, one wheel at time, produces a firm artisanal cheese that has a spicy flavour and characteristically strong aroma.

Swiss Bergkäse Alpine cheese is produced from morning and evening milk. The evening milk is left standing overnight then skimmed in the morning and the morning milk added and mixed. Then the milk is warmed to 30 -32 °C with cultures and rennet added. Starting after about half an hour, the milk thickens and is then cut into pea to hazelnut sized curds with the cheese harp. This preliminary cheese making stage lasts around 30 to 40 minutes. Afterwards, depending on the amount of milk and the degree of ripening, it is reheated over about ½ hour up to 50 °C then stirred for 20 to 40 minutes. Finally, the cheese is removed from the kettle in a cloth and pressed over a whole day with an increasing pressure of from 5 to 8 kg per kg cheese, whereby it is also turned three times. On the following morning the cheese is immersed in a 20% brine bath for at least one day. Subsequently it is cellar-matured for two months at 16 °C during which time the cheese round is washed with brine and turned two to three times per week. After maturing for a month at 12 °C the cheese has reached the correct maturity for consumption.

The longer the ripening time of the cheese the more intense the flavour. A whole wheel weighing an average of 60 pounds has a dark yellow to brown rind. This rind once developed is then covered in wild meadow herbs giving the cheese not only it distinguished and attractive appearance but also an exquisite and totally unique taste.