På god fod or "On a good foot"... Copenhagen, Denmark (the famous birthplace of a young cheese blog)

It only seems fitting that I take a moment to catch you all up on my cheesy inspirations for this blog! It all began 2 years ago upon touching down in "wonderful" Copenhagen. On a hungry mission, I found my way into the black and yellow store front of Netto grocery store (quite the classy joint). Before long, I found myself eyeing a sea of new cheeses: Danbo, Molbo, Samso, Saga, Danablu, etc.! I couldn't believe it ... after all these years of cheesy enthusiasm I had NEVER heard of let alone consumed many of these cheeses. So began my journey to discovering/uncovering a new cheese of the week from my travels! (There's quite a number of them so will probs reveal them in a series of small posts:)

Graesk Feta ( FWI 1st cheese consumed in Copenhagen, NOT a new cheese, but reminded me of home)

History’s first encounter with this tasty cheese was in Homer’s classic tale of the Odyssey. The story goes Polyphemus (the Cyclops thing) was in a hurry to take off on a journey, and so he threw some milk in sheep skin for snack-to-go. Flash forward a few days, Polyphemus digs into his bag and finds the milk. To his surprise, the curdled milk has been transformed into a soft white substance… and this my friends is thought to be the first feta. In Greece, “Feta”  cheese was a staple! It was so popular people simply called it cheese; however, in the 17th century, it adopted the name “feta” after the greek word for slice. Today, Feta cheese holds center stage in Greek cuisine! Therefore, it comes at no surprise that Denmark and Greece are currently in a battle of tug-a-war over production rights of this cheese. However, the word’s out that Denmark produces their cheese with cows milk (how rude!), and so Greece is pulling the “designation of origin card” ( aka real feta is made from locally sourced–Greek– sheep’s milk and 30% –Greek–goats milk). Thus, Denmark must halt all production immediately! While this may seem like a bit of an extreme reaction, it’s hard to blame Greece when the origin and homeland of this cheese is at stake!

Gormsen Guld (Danbo)

I stumbled upon this cheese when I was wondering around the Meatpacking district in Copenhagen. The local cheese shop had an extensive collection of cheeses, and yet, when asked what was their most popular cheese among families in this area, the forager (cheese guy) suggested this Gormsen guld cheese—no hesitation! This cheese is a tasty version of Danbo cheese, therefore expect a rich, creamy cheese with nutty undertones. From my research, I have found that this cheese is handmade by Gormsen Ost on the island of Funen in Odense–the third largest city in Denmark! As my host dad predicted (after sampling some of it), this cheese must mature 15-16 weeks followed by 30-35 weeks in storage… hence the reason why these cheeses are difficult to mass produce!

Pairing Recommendation: Serve as an hors d’oeuvre… smear a generous amount on a (gluten free:) cracker and top with a very delicate slice of pear–preferable from the garden–and enjoy with friends and family!

Brunost (“brown cheese”)

The story goes, a norwegian milk maid (Anne Hov) decide to boil the left over whey from the cheese she had made earlier that day. She added cream to it and cooked it down until it formed this fatty, cheese-like product. It wasn’t long before this cheese made a name for itself. This cheese generated so much revenue it was credited for helping Anne’s town of Gudbrandsdalen (hence the name of the most popular brand of Brunost) out of a recession. In return for her contribution to Norway, she received the King’s Medal of Merit. This cheese is famously known for its unique caramelized taste, soft, malleable texture, and its slightly tangy after taste *attributed to a dash of goat’s milk. It’s sweet taste is attributed to the process of boiling down the milk sugars.

Pairing Recommendation: Hands down this mouth-watering “cheese” goes best on a warm vaffel (made by Harold from Oslo, Norway of course:) with a generous smear of sour cream and raspberry jam. You will not be disappointed with the myriad of sweet, salty, and buttery undertones. Also, it goes well on sandwich’s or simply by itself…slice by slice.