Nieheimer Káse
Name of Group of Producers
Inspection Body
Verein Schutzgemeinschaft Nieheimer Káse
c/o Káserei Pott Untere Mauerstrasse 32
33039 Nieheim DEUTSCHLAND
Tel. +49 5274472
Fax +49 5274953778
E-mail: menne.thomas.nieheim@t-online.de
Landesamt für Ernáhrungswirtschaft und Jagd Nordrhein-Westfalen
Postfach 30 06 51
40406 Dà¼sseldorf DEUTSCHLAND
Tel. +49 23613050
Fax +49 23613053215
E-mail: poststelle@lanuv.nrw.de
Date of Submission: 14.03.1996
Date of Pubblication: 29.09.2009
Date of Registration: 13.05.2010
"Nieheimer Káse" is a low-fat, high-protein, sour milk cheese.
Exterior: The exterior is smooth and wrinkle-free, with a yellowish to grey-green colour. The cheese can be covered with hop leaves (in which case there is usually a corresponding reference in connection with the description).
Interior: The cut surface is smooth, close-textured, uniformly coloured and may be interspersed with caraway. Small pieces of quark which are not fully ripe do not give the desired appearance. The cheese can range from firm enough to cut to grateable.
Odour and taste: The taste is pure, sharp, spicy, with a touch of caraway, depending on the seasoning.
Shape, size and weight: The cheese is typically produced in cylindrical form with a diameter of 4,0 to 4,5 cm, a height of 2,0 to 2,5 cm and a weight of 32 to 37 g. Variations are possible.
Composition: The ingredients used to make "Nieheimer Káse" are skimmed milk quark and table salt. The cheese is sold with consistencies which vary from firm enough to cut to grateable. It may also contain caraway. As the cheese matures, the water content decreases and the contents vary accordingly.
The composition and ingredients of "Nieheimer Káse" are therefore defined by establishing parameters for the sour milk quark which is the raw material. The sour milk quark used is a low-fat quark with a dry matter content of at least 33 %, a pH value of between 3,9 and 4,3, and a fresh-mass fat content of less than 1 %. In the final product (and with a dry matter content of, for example, 45-46 %, i.e. when the cheese is firm enough to cut), this yields a fat content of approx. 1,5-1,6 % in the dry matter (adjusted). The fat content (Schmid-Bondsynski-Ratzlaff method) is then approx. 0,7 %. The dry matter content of the cheese when grateable is approx. 60 % or more. Nieheim cheese which is ready to sell always has a fat content of below 1 % when the dry quark described above is used.
Ripening is based solely on the sour quark"s bacterial and yeast culture; no extra ripening cultures are added. This distinguishes "Nieheimer Káse" from other sour milk cheeses.
The production area for "Nieheimer Káse" is the municipality of Nieheim.
The milk to be used and the dry quark do not have to originate in the above geographical area.
Upon receipt at the factory, the ingredients used in the production of "Nieheimer Káse" are inspected by the manager and the staff member responsible for quality assurance or his representative and are recorded in lists. The consignment notes for each batch of goods received are also kept. When the finished products leave the factory, the details given in the consignment notes are kept on record so that each consignment can be traced back to the raw materials used in production.
The identification marking providing proof of origin (production batch marking) will be added during the labelling process by putting an appropriate mark on the product packaging or in a document which accompanies the products. As regards the batch marking of "Nieheimer Káse", one day"s production corresponds to one batch.
The cheese is produced from (home-made or bought) dry quark which meets the following quality parameters: dry matter content of at least 33 %, pH value of between 3,9 and 4,3, and fresh-mass fat content of less than 1 %. The dry quark comes 100 % from cow"s milk. It is first finely ground in a mincer and put in cases. This quark mass is then placed in a ripening room. The length of the ripening process depends on the temperature and air humidity and can be taken from 3 to 5 days. The quark is fully ripe once the mass has turned a yellowish colour. The right moment for further processing is determined by means of visual and sensory examination undertaken by the individuals responsible. Cooking salt (2,5-3,5 %) and possibly caraway seed (0,01-0,03 %) are then added to the mass, which is mixed until distribution is even. The cheese mass is then shaped into rolls 4,0 to 4,5 cm in diameter, and subsequently cut with a cutting harp into pieces 2,0 to 2,5 cm wide. The small individual cylindrical cheeses are then placed individually on cheese shelves and must be allowed to cool. The cheese is subsequently packed in such a way as to be pervious to air; only in that way can it breathe and dry out slowly. The packaging may additionally consist of a protective layer of hops. In that case a reference is usually made to this variation in packaging and presentation. Variations in presentation are common.
