Norway Pride of place A UNESCO ‘creative city of gastronomy’, Bergen this year hosts the 2018 World Cheese Awards. As ELYSE GLICKMAN discovers, it’s a source of pride for all involved in Norway’s artisan Astrid Aasen, master cheesemaker at Gangstad Gårdsysteri in Trøndelag – the first farmhouse producer to make cheese cheese renaissance. with its own milk after a post-war ban was lifted THE 2018 WORLD CHEESE Cheese Awards was a hands-down AWARDS were still two months success. But the stakes were always away, but on Friday 31st August the going to be higher in November, with cream of Norway’s cheesemakers Norwegian cheesemakers coming A CUT ABOVE were ready for their close-up. up against their counterparts from It was the opening day of southern Europe, Australia, the US, These World Cheese Awards winners and the Bergen Food Festival, and 24 UK, and more on their home turf. contenders have set the bar higher in Norway’s producers gamely doled out samples The real question now, though, emergent cheese industry. of their finest creations along what for Norway’s cheese artisans is was billed as ‘Norway’s largest cheese not which expressions of their table’. “cream” rise to the top in Bergen, but Local attendees experienced how how their cheeses are received by the humble brunost (brown cheese) consumers in Norway and overseas. of their childhoods had been elevated The rebirth of Norwegian cheese to new levels of sophistication and has been 35 years in the making, just how diverse the Norway cheese- according to Agneta Linden Moen producing universe had become. of tour company Up Norway. Its 2016 world champion Kraftkar, Cheese Trail tours (upnorway.com/ an expressive blue crafted by journeys/cheese) through the Oslo, Cheese: Kraftkar Cheese: Granstubben Tingvollost, drew enthusiastic Trøndelag, and Lofoten regions take Producer: Tingvollost Producer: Gangstad Gårdsysteri reactions, as did cheeses from other cheese-lovers behind the scenes at Region: Nordmøre, Western Region: Trøndelag, Middle producers – Bo Jensen Dairy’s Lille several small dairies whose wares Norway Norway Aske, Tine’s Kvit Geitost Lagra and have featured in the awards. A pungent but mellow Roquefort- This washed-rind cheese, aged Eggen Gardsysteri’s Fjellblå – that Bernt Bucher-Johannessen, inspired cheese, crafted from with red bacteria, is at its best managing director of national unskimmed cow’s milk and cream, when baked in the oven and had earned Gold and even Super farm tourism body HANEN, notes with an injected culture of the served melted with hearty breads Gold at the 2017 competition in mould Penicillium roqueforti. or crackers. London. it was the “cheese revolution” tingvollost.no ysteri.no ➔ This dress rehearsal for the first happening at those dairies that Norwegian staging of the World ultimately helped secure Bergen ➔ GOOD CHEESE 2018-19 19 Norway ➔ A CUT ABOVE Cheese: Capra Cheese: Steinfjording Havsmak Cheese: Høvding Sverre Cheese: Råblå Cheese: Fjelldronning Producer: Aalan Gård Producer: Lofoten Gårdsysteri Producer: Orkladal Ysteri Producer: Grindal Ysteri Producer: Avdem Gardsysteri Region: Lofoten Region: Lofoten Region: Trøndelag, Middle Norway Region: Trøndelag, Middle Norway Region: Lesja, Southern Norway Organic pasteurised milk from the This organic goats’ cheese gets its A mellow and mild semi-hard Raw-milk blue made in two Fjelldronning is a washed-rind raw farm’s free-range goats go into this herbaceous, earthy character from variety, inspired by Swiss cheeses variants: 100% cows’ milk or a cows’ milk cheese aged for several this small-batch, semi-hard cheese. three different seaweeds added and matured for three-to-six mixture of cows’ and goats’ milk. months. aalan.no during production. months. grindalysteri.no avdem.no lofoten-gardsysteri.no orkladalysteri.no – designated a UNESCO Creative turn helped advance the Norwegian Before World War II, it was made Krafkar [which means “strong man” City of Gastronomy in 2015 – the cheese revolution. by boiling whey and white cheese and is inspired by Roquefort], it 2018 event. “This year’s competition Today, while TINE tankers remnants in iron kettles over a fire. becomes something entirely new.” gives our finest cheese producers collect bulk milk produced by Recipes varied from farm to farm, Cheesemakers and their an international stage to show how member farmers, guaranteeing them determined by whether farmers supporters point out that far they have come,” he says. “With a market, members are not obliged had cows, goats, or both. It was distribution remains one of the cheese as an essential daily staple, to sell everything to the co-op and commonly served as a dessert and biggest challenges in a country it also provides a fantastic arena for can set some milk aside for artisanal a nutritional iron supplement for nearly twice the size of Great Britain promoting Norwegian cuisine with cheesemaking. children. but with a population of just 5.3 residents and visitors alike.” Brunost symbolically represents Post-war industrialization nearly million. Targeted messaging about According to Linden Moen, the rescue of Norwegian farmhouse wiped out this traditional process, buying local is key, and producers Norway was for many years a very cheese from industrial production. but modern cheese artisans have not have to find ways to educate the “cheese poor” country, with perhaps only revived brunost but diversified public on why buying artisanal only 20 varieties on the market, all it. Starting with sometimes cheese supports the community at mass-produced. She says: “Small centuries-old regional recipes, they large and is worth the extra cost. farms stopped producing traditional have made new versions of this and “What’s still challenging for us cheeses after World War II, with other farmhouse cheeses by adding is selling everything we produce, a ban on home-cheesemaking in or changing ingredients. especially if a facility is located on a place [instituted by the Norwegian According to Linden Moen, this small island or a remote valley in the Food Safety Authority] and large reflects a proud tradition of letting middle of the country,” says Marielle commercial dairies taking over. no food go to waste in making De Roos of Logo Lofoten Gårdsyster “When the ban was lifted in the finished products. in Bøstad. 1980s, small producers interested The rise of Neo-Nordic and Neo- “There’s the added task of in reviving the art of cheesemaking Fjordic cuisines, meanwhile, has also figuring out how to get those cheeses studied the craft and regained helped place Norway on the world into the hands of distributors who, knowledge of nearly forgotten cheese map. Copenhagen’s two- in turn, can get the cheeses into recipes. Michelin-star Noma, for example, is Norway’s greater market place.” “They also became interested using Avdem Gardsysteri’s brunost But cheesemakers have been in creating new cheeses inspired by in one of its best-selling desserts. persistent, even winning political varieties from England, France, and Norwegian chefs, including those support to generate more public Holland. This led to the 200 small who have won the Bocuse D’Or and awareness of their contribution producers we have today.” other competitions, have shown to Norway’s culinary legacy. At Astrid Aasen is master diners at home and abroad that Metmerk, a foundation that protects cheesemaker at Gangstad Gårdsysteri there’s more to Norway’s natural the integrity of agricultural products in Trøndelag, central Norway. She beauty than fjords and mountains. through quality marks and branding recalls: “When we started making According to producer advice, Anne Mette Johnsen says: cheese 20 years ago, we were the Yngve Tingstad of Thorbjørnrud “With the public gaining greater first dairy farm to produce from our Ysteri, cheese is a living product interest in Norwegian food as a own milk.” Once the ban was lifted, personalised by every maker, who cuisine and not just a source of Gangstad was authorised to sell its uses his or her instincts when adding nutrition, they are getting the value cheese throughout the country. something new to the mix. “Mould of buying local and paying a little As time went on, national and natural bacteria in the rooms extra for higher quality.” dairy farmers’ co-operative TINE where cheese is crafted play a role, as For Norway’s producers, hosting shifted its position on artisan does Norwegian milk with its high the 2018 competition is more than cheesemakers. Rather than view protein content, fat, flavour profile,” just a source of national pride. “It’s them as competition, it now saw the he explains. “While cheeses differ by not just about winning competitions economic benefits of diversifying region and approach, we’re all getting and competing with Holland, France, Norway’s cheese output. It reached At summer’s Bergen Food Festival, the uniquely indigenous cheese, no Italy, and others,” says Linden Moen. cream of the nation’s artisan producers out to assist smaller cheesemakers were showcased on ‘Norway’s Biggest matter where a recipe is sourced. “We’re taking pride in the work with sales and distribution, which in Cheese Table’ “Whether it’s English cheddar or we’ve put into this endeavour.” 20 GOOD CHEESE 2018-19.