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Vorarlberger Bergkáse

Vorarlberger Bergkáse is made from natural raw milk (cow's milk), contains about 50% fat in dry matter and has a smeared-on or dried-on grainy rind ranging from yellowish-brown to brown in colour. The wheels weigh between 8 to 35 kg and are 10 to 12 cm high. The round, roughly pea-size eyes, are matt to shiny and evenly distributed throughout. The body ranges from firm to more supple and is ivory-coloured to light yellow in colour. The flavour ranges from aromatic to piquant. The raw material is Alpine or valley milk suitable for making hard cheese obtained from herds that are not fed any silage fodder. Only natural rennet is used.

Vorarlberger Bergkáse is manufactured exclusively by producers, or processors, and fanners in the Bregenzerwald, Kleinwalsertal, GroàŸwalsertal, Laiblachtal (Pfà¡nderstock) and Rheintal from raw milk produced in Vorarlberg.

The raw milk (which has not undergone thermization, pasteurization or bactofogation) is partially skimmed (leaving a fat content of around 3.3%), - then coagulated with calf-rennet and a whey culture, or lactic acid culture, produced by the cheesemaker (with the evaluation and growth of this culture being dependent on the cheesemakeťs experience). It is the addition of these whey cultures which makes Vorarlberger Bergkáse so distinct from other similar products.

The curd is then heated to between approximately 51 and 52.5°C and pressed. Afterwards the cheese is soaked in brine for 2-3 days (around 20% sodium chloride) and then ripened in cellars at a temperature of between 12 and 15°C and relative humidity of between 90 and 95%. During this time the wheels are regularly treated with brine so that a typical rind and taste develop (i.e. brushed, or rubbed with brine twice a week (around 20% sodium chloride, pH-value around 5.25). Vorarlberger Bergkáse is, at the earliest, ready to be consumed when it is 3 to 6 months old (depending on the degree of ripeness its characteristics may vary somewhat: small slits m the body (0.5 -1 cm), fewer eyes, sharper taste).