Odenwälder Frühstückskäse

What is Odenwälder Frühstückskäse Cheese?

Odenwälder Frühstückskäse comes from the Odenwald in Hesse, Germany. Several dairies in the region once made it. Today only the Molkerei Hüttenthal in Mossautal is left, and its traditional sales area reaches only about 80 km (50 miles) around the dairy. The name refers to an older habit: the cheese was eaten at the morning meal after milking.

The name is a protected geographical designation under section 8 of the German Käseverordnung, and since 25 November 1997 it has also been registered as a protected designation of origin under European law. Only cheese made in the Odenwaldkreis or the Landkreis Bergstraße qualifies, and the milk has to come from the same area.

Production starts with skimmed, pasteurized milk, pre-ripened at 34 °C with starter cultures to 7.5 °SH. Natural calf rennet sets the curd over about 60 minutes. The curd is cut into cubes of 1.5 to 2 cm (about 0.6 to 0.8 in), stirred several times, then ladled by hand into pre-warmed moulds. After roughly six hours of whey drainage the cheeses go into a 20 percent brine at 18 °C for two hours. A warm pre-ripening at 20 °C lets surface yeasts grow and reduce the acidity. The main ripening runs 14 days at 14 °C and 90 percent humidity, with four or five smearings with red smear cultures and turnings.

The loaves are small and cylindrical, made at 100 g (3.5 oz). There is no proper rind, just a supple skin with a brownish-yellow smear. Inside, the paste is ivory to yellowish, supple and closed apart from a few small breaks. Dry matter sits between 31 and 42 percent. The cheese is made at least in the quarter-fat grade, with a minimum of 10 percent fat in dry matter; the specification also allows a 45 percent version, though the maker does not appear to sell it.

It smells spicy to piquant and tastes strong. Because the curd is shaped by hand, the cheese is also sold as Handkäse. That is unusual, since Handkäse almost always means a sour milk cheese rather than one set with rennet.