Esrom

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Esrom is a Danish cow's milk cheese, also sold as Danish Port Salut. It is known for a pungent aroma, a full sweet flavour, a waxy yellow-brown rind and small holes scattered through a buttery paste. It is one of three Danish cheeses with EU PGI protection.

Key Facts

Country of Origin	Denmark
Protection	PGI (1996)
Milk Type	Cow's milk
Milk Treatment	Pasteurised at low temperature
Fat Content	Esrom 20+: minimum fat in dry matter 20%; Esrom 30+: minimum fat in dry matter 30%; Esrom 45+: minimum fat in dry matter 45%; Esrom 60+: minimum fat in dry matter 60%
Rind	Thin, supple, yellow to yellowy-orange edible rind with a clean, almost dry, thin and uniform yellowish brown to reddish brown outer skin
Texture	Semi-hard to hard, soft but easily cut
Flavor	Mild, acidic, aromatic with hints of surface ripening
Aroma	Mild, acidic, aromatic
Colors	Uniformly yellowish to white
Forms	Rectangular, height 3.5-4.5 cm, weight 0.2-0.5 kg; Rectangular, height 4.0-7.0 cm, weight 1.3-2.0 kg; Rectangular, height 4.0-7.0 cm, min. weight 2 kg
Age	Minimum 2 weeks
Also Known As	Danish Port Salut

What is Esrom Cheese?

Esrom takes its name from Esrom Abbey, the Danish monastery that made it until 1559. The modern style was standardized at Statens Forsogsmejeri in the 1930s, and the first large-scale production began at Midtsjaellands Herregardsmejeri in the early 1940s.

It was one of the most popular Danish cheeses in the 1960s, then it almost disappeared. A number of dairy companies have brought it back in recent years. Esrom, Danbo and Danablu are the only Danish cheeses carrying an EU PGI mark, so they may only be made in Denmark from Danish milk at approved dairies.

The cheese is slow ripened from a starting culture for 10 to 12 weeks, then cured in rectangular moulds.

The paste is pale yellow and semi-soft, slightly elastic and buttery, with many small holes running through it. A waxy yellow-brown rind covers the outside. The aroma is pungent and the flavour full and sweet.

Esrom serves as a table cheese and melts well, which puts it in casseroles and sandwiches. It sits close to havarti or Saint Paulin. Its bold flavour holds up next to dark beers and red wines.