ALPINE CHEESE extra spicy | Aged 12 months | Lactose-free PREMIUM mountain hard cheese directly from the cheese cellar | Bold and spicy taste guarantee | bergkäse 12 Monate

ARTISAN ALPINE CHEESE | EXTRA SPICY HARD CHEESEThe Vorarlberger Bergkäse (mountain cheese) is a regional cheese specialty from the Austrian province Vorarlberg. » More info | FROM THE AUSTRIAN ALPS – 12 months matured

In German language this cheese specialty is called Bergkäse.

Our alpine hard cheese extra spicy (12 month matured in natural cellarThe alpine cheese is best located in a cellar with high humidity. » More info) gets its very spicy aroma through hand care and very traditional hand-made production – without the use of modern “big dairy mass production machinery”.

The alpine cheese – extra spicy – is one of the premiumHere in Austria, we call our fresh, natural milk for our cheese production hay milk (hay mild standard) - in Germany it is different. » More info quality hard cheese products of the valley dairy “Rehmer Sennhus” located at about 800 meters sea level in the Austrian alps. Thanks to the very long 12 months cheese storage Bergkäse have an incomparably natural flavour.

With the spicy mountain cheese with 12 months cheese ripeningAerobic cheese ripening means cheese ripening with oxygen. » More info you hold a intensive and exceptional mountain cheese speciality in your hands. The alpine cheese extra spicy gets its strong and spicy aroma by 100% manual care from our MASTER CHEESMAKER Hermann Berchtold in the natural cellar.

The alpine cheese rind is maintained or let’s better say massaged with sodium chloride-free, iodine-free salt (washed rind cheese) and pure, dextrorotatory spring water.

Cheese specialist Hermann develops a special ambition when it comes to the task “composing new cheese taste attempts” respectively new cheese creations. Hermann achieves the special flavours and exquisite taste with some important cheese secrets, such as:

• Cheese wheel storage only on wooden boards in the natural cellar without artificialVegan cheese, analogue cheese, artificial cheese or cheese imitation are food products that resemble cheese cheese when compared to real cheese. » More info air conditioning
• Traditional hand scooped with cheesecloth
• Care without chemical additives
• Use of unpumped hay milkHay milk comes from cows that are fed exclusively with fresh grassland feed, hay and little grain. » More info (no pump machinery for the milkCheese milk is the milk intended for the production of cheese, also with the concomitant use of buttermilk products, cream products, sweet whey, sour whey and whey cream (whey cream) » More info transportation)
• Natural rennetNatural rennet is a mixture of the enzymes chymosin and pepsin, which is obtained from the abomasum of young ruminants in milk-drinking age. » More info
• Iodine-free salt
• Spring water from the Ilga spring

The cheese maturing time of 12 months gives the hard cheese a intesively, extra spicy cheese flavour. Alpine cheese is generally indispensable as a typical area cheese specialty from the local gourmet kitchen.

Short historical background – traditional alpine hard cheese from the Austrian province Vorarlberg

The Vorarlberger alpine cheese “Bergkäse” is a regional speciality that has fans far beyond the borders of the small province on account of its high standards. Its generic, aromatically fine-tangy cheese taste is developed during a ripening periodThe milk period is also called the lactation period. It is the time when farm animals such as cows, sheep or goats keep milk for milk production. » More info of at least 12 months (till up to 16 months). Bergkäse is a member of the hard cheese family.

Alpine cheese has been produced and matured at alpine and valley dairies in Vorarlberg (our area) since the beginning of the last century. The traditional alpine cheese is made from untreatedThe cheese is made from fresh milk, which was not treated at the beginning of the cheese making process (raw milk). It is almost as it comes from the cow's udder. » More info (non-thermic, pasteurized or centrifugally sterilized) raw milk (hay milk) with at least 45% F.D.M.The F.D.M. value related to dry matter, also depending on the water content of the cheese. The higher the water content (the more watery the cheese) the less dry matter and the less fat the cheese contains. » More info

The characteristics of the alpine cheese are decisively influenced by the alpine milk used for its production, its ingredients and taste and consistency, and by the special alpine flora.

Through the small-scale farms that supply the raw material, and the alpine dairy tradition, the  artisanal production and traditional care of the cheese has been preserved to this day. This results in the special quality and long shelf life of the spicy alpine cheese.

Special quality features of the hard cheese extra spicy alpine cheese

• The approximately pea-sized, round, mostly rare cheese holesThe large round holes (round holes, fermentation holes) are caused by fermentation gases of bacteria (for example, the propionic acid bacteria in Emmentaler, etc.). » More info are dull to shiny and frugally spreaded.
• Due to the long maturation time, the cheese dough becomes less and less supple (shorter), firmer and slightly friable.

Our suggerstion for hard cheese extra spicy with 12 months cheese care in the cellar

Try this cheese with fresh strawberries and add coarse ground black pepper, lemon juice and white port. Enjoy it with a glass of frizzante and fresh white bread.