Brunost
Brunost is a Norwegian whey product made by boiling whey with milk and cream until the milk sugars caramelize. It is brown, sweet and firm enough to slice, and it is eaten like cheese on sandwiches, crispbread and waffles.
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Sweden |
| Specific Origin | Gudbrandsdalen, Norway |
| Milk Type | Cow's and goat's milk |
| Milk Treatment | Pasteurized or unpasteurized |
| Rind | Natural |
| Texture | Semi-soft, whey |
| Flavor | Caramel, sweet |
| Colors | Brown |
| Age | Unaged, ready once packed and refrigerated |
| Also Known As | mysost, mesost, meesjuusto, mysuostur, myseost, Braunkäse, geitost, Ekte Geitost, Gudbrandsdalsost |
What is Brunost Cheese?
Scandinavians have been boiling whey down 10:1 into a brown, cheesy spread for at least 2,500 years. A 2016 dig in central Jutland turned up cheese residue on pottery from about 650 B.C.E. that may be a relative of brunost. The modern firm, fatty version is credited to the milkmaid Anne Hov of Gudbrandsdalen, who in 1863 at the Valseter mountain farm added cream to the whey and boiled it in an iron pot until the fluid content dropped below 80 percent. She called it feitost, or fat cheese; the name later became fløtemysost.
After moving to Rusthågå farm in Nord-Fron Municipality, Hov scaled up production and added goat's milk for a sharper taste. The trader Ole Kongsli shipped it to contacts in Christiania as Gudbrandsdalsost, and the sales that followed helped pull the valley out of recession. In 1933, at 87, Hov received the King's Medal of Merit. Today the Norwegian co-operative Tine is the largest producer with 13 varieties, followed by Synnøve Finden.
Production is slow boiling. Milk, cream and whey are cooked together for several hours until the water evaporates and the heat turns the milk sugars to caramel, which supplies both the brown colour and the sweetness. There is no ripening period; the product is ready as soon as it is packed and refrigerated. Low-fat versions come from raising the share of whey against milk and cream.
The texture is firm, a little softer than Gouda, and it cuts and shapes cleanly instead of crumbling. Norwegians split brunost into types made only with cow's cream and milk and types containing goat's milk, the latter called geitost or gjetost. Gudbrandsdalsost, a blend of cow and goat milk with cream and whey, is the most popular at home and abroad. Fløtemysost is milder without goat's milk. Ekte geitost uses only whey and goat's milk and tastes intense and chèvre-like.
Most brunost goes on sandwiches, crispbread and biscuits, including the matpakke lunch box that many Norwegians carry to work. Its texture shifts if it sits out of the fridge, but the taste holds, which suits packed lunches. It is also standard on waffles and goes into gravy for game meat. Nutritionally it carries calcium, protein, vitamin B and iodine, and no salt, but the natural sugar, fat and lactose levels are all high.
How Does Brunost Cheese Compare?
The most relevant cheeses to compare Brunost against.
