A Strange Cheese

Shazzerooneypoos is a frequent bringer of new tastes to Film Club gatherings; we've enjoyed, amongst other delicacies supplied by the Little Lush One, numerous variations on anchovy fillets, chocolate dinosaurs of brown and white persuasions and some very tasty chilli based products.

Sunday last, though, Auntie Sharon surpassed herself with her unusual offering...

Ekte Geitost, a brown "cheese" from Norway.


Dong liked it lots and devoured a fair old portion or two. Didn't do it for me, I'm afraid. But here's the film club cheese board featuring Ekte Geitost which graced the table as we watched The life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (which, as an aside, was enjoyed by all).

I've done a bit of research (ok - I typed Ekte Geitost into Google) and, for those interested in such things:

Brunost - Norwegian Brown Cheese:

"Real cheeses are made only from the curds. Ricotta, Brunost and similar, although often called cheeses where they are produced, are technically Whey based dairy products....


...For more than 300 years Norwegian farmers have made cheeses from cow's milk and goat's milk and turned the leftover whey into different kinds of foodstuffs. Many strange concoctions existed and some of these are available regionally today. The simplest was to just boil out most of the water from the cow's whey, and shape the remainder into a sweet, low-fat, pale reddish brown 'cheese'. This is the most basic type of brown cheese and is simply called Mysost, 'whey cheese'. By mixing in cream, or using goat's milk, or a combination of goat's and cow's milk, and/or by leaving more water in the mix, all of todays brown cheeses came into existence...


...Brunost (lit. brown cheese) is the generic name for lots of different products...


...[the] taste comes mainly from caramelised lactose and hence the product is sweet, with a hint of caramel, and tastes nothing like cheese at all. The use of goat's milk in some types adds another uncomparable taste that takes a little getting used to...


...Ekte Geitost is made with whey, milk and cream from goats. It has the most pronounced taste of all the Brunosts. The name translates to Real (or Genuine) Goat Cheese. There is a small export of Ekte Geitost."

(quotations from bbc.co.uk, full article is here.)